Automotive painter vs vehicle painter

The differences between automotive painters and vehicle painters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an automotive painter and a vehicle painter. Additionally, an automotive painter has an average salary of $40,894, which is higher than the $37,714 average annual salary of a vehicle painter.

The top three skills for an automotive painter include spray guns, OEM and coats. The most important skills for a vehicle painter are mask, , and .

Automotive painter vs vehicle painter overview

	Automotive Painter	Vehicle Painter
Yearly salary	$40,894	$37,714
Hourly rate	$19.66	$18.13
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	36,719	5,454
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Automotive painter vs vehicle painter salary

Automotive painters and vehicle painters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Automotive Painter	Vehicle Painter
Average salary	$40,894	$37,714
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $53,000	Between $25,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between automotive painter and vehicle painter education

There are a few differences between an automotive painter and a vehicle painter in terms of educational background:

	Automotive Painter	Vehicle Painter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Automotive painter vs vehicle painter demographics

Here are the differences between automotive painters' and vehicle painters' demographics:

	Automotive Painter	Vehicle Painter
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 2.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between automotive painter and vehicle painter duties and responsibilities

Automotive painter example responsibilities.

Paint and/or refinish repair areas on vehicle to achieve a better than factory finish.
Set up ladders, and scaffolding according to regulation.
Use of relate PPE and knowledge of hazardous waste disposal procedures.
Set up portable equipment, such as ventilators, exhaust units, ladders, or scaffolding.
Sand vehicle surfaces between coats of paint or primer to remove flaws and enhance adhesion for subsequent coats.
Work with PPG waterborne paint and primers.

Vehicle painter example responsibilities.

Prepared/Paint LPG tanks prepared/paint heater treaters prepared/paint oil-filled holding tanks prepared/paint separators
Operate compressors, sandblasters and spray equipment.

Automotive painter vs vehicle painter skills

Common automotive painter skills

Spray Guns, 18%
OEM, 13%
Coats, 10%
Hazardous Waste, 9%
Stencils, 8%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%

Common vehicle painter skills

Mask, 100%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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