What does a paint technician do?
The responsibilities of a Paint Technician primarily depend on their place or industry of employment. In the automotive industry, a Paint Technician specializes in painting new vehicles, conducting paint repairs, or providing custom paint services. Their tasks often include meeting with clients to identify their needs and preferences, developing strategies and concepts, and adhering to schedules and formats. Aside from having a great attention to detail, a Paint Technician must also have strength, endurance, and presence of mind as their duties require long hours of physical work.
Paint technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real paint technician resumes:
- Use of booms, and hoists.
- Use and conduct proper care of PPE.
- Remove and replace chrome moldings and trim.
- Help troubleshoot any issues with the painting systems.
- Control CNC machine to run the assembly line.
- Paint PrepperI work as a paint prepper for Nalley BMW.
- Strip structures of old paint and caulking and then reapply new paint and caulking.
- Aid the painters in prepping of tarps, and papering off windows for painting.
- Prepare planes to be paint by washing, sanding, and taping off windows.
- Make sure shafts are getting paint from a quality point of veiw...CNC operator
- Apply stencils and decals using blue prints to assure accuracy, correct appearance and legibility.
- Mix, apply, carry and handle paints, specialty coatings adhesives, caulking and additives.
- Clean work areas, using air hoses, to remove damage material and discard fiberglass strips used in repair procedures.
- Set up portable equipment, such as ventilators, exhaust units, or ladders, or scaffolding.
- Erect various types of scaffolding, staging, ladders, and planks to reach surfaces of work area.
Paint technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Paint Technicians are proficient in Work Ethic, Fiberglass, and Paint Guns. They’re also known for soft skills such as Time-management skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Paint Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Work Ethic, 11%
Recognized for exercising good judgment, work ethic, staff training and development, and take-charge-teamwork attitude.
- Fiberglass, 9%
Installed, repaired and fabricated fiberglass components within specifications dictated by military contracts.
- Paint Guns, 7%
Maintained and repaired various types of electrostatic spray equipment, paint pumps, paint guns, paint hoses and paint regulators.
- Ladders, 6%
Climbed ladders to open valve on blast pot to fill pot with sand.
- Painting Equipment, 5%
Prepared surfaces and performed painting of various structures using various painting equipment and related tools.
- Safety Procedures, 4%
Complied with safety procedures including use of required safety equipment and identified unsafe practices or conditioned faults and resolved equipment issues.
"work ethic," "fiberglass," and "paint guns" are among the most common skills that paint technicians use at work. You can find even more paint technician responsibilities below, including:
Time-management skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a paint technician to have is time-management skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "automotive body and glass repairers must be timely in their repairs." Paint technicians often use time-management skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepare, paint, and buffing of vehicles ensure attention to detail to meet deadlines and quality standards. "
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling paint technician duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "automotive body and glass repairers discuss auto body and glass problems, along with options to fix them, with customers." According to a paint technician resume, here's how paint technicians can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "mixed custom paint according to customer specifications using computerized paint matching system. "
Detail oriented. paint technicians are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to paint technician responsibilities, because "automotive body and glass repairers must pay close attention to detail." A paint technician resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "mask or tape off details and components to avoid contamination and select the proper colors and substances for the project. "
Dexterity. For certain paint technician responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a paint technician rely on this skill, as "automotive body repairers’ tasks, such as removing door panels, hammering out dents, and using hand tools to install parts, require a steady hand and good hand–eye coordination." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what paint technicians do: "operated spray guns and other company machinery including forklift. "
Mechanical skills. A commonly-found skill in paint technician job descriptions, "mechanical skills" is essential to what paint technicians do. Paint technician responsibilities rely on this skill because "automotive body repairers must know which diagnostic, hydraulic, pneumatic, and other power equipment and tools are appropriate for certain procedures and repairs." You can also see how paint technician duties rely on mechanical skills in this resume example: "used tools and machines to assist numerous factory personnel with mechanical, hvac, or maintenance/cleaning issues. "
Physical strength. While "physical strength" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to paint technician responsibilities. Much of what a paint technician does relies on this skill, seeing as "automotive body and glass repairers must sometimes lift heavy parts, such as door panels and windshields." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of paint technicians: "repair and maintains physical structure of stoves. "
The three companies that hire the most paint technicians are:
- AutoNation131 paint technicians jobs
- CarMax20 paint technicians jobs
- American Homes 4 Rent12 paint technicians jobs
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Compare different paint technicians
Paint technician vs. Body shop worker
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a paint technician are more likely to require skills like "work ethic," "fiberglass," "ladders," and "painting equipment." On the other hand, a job as a body shop worker requires skills like "hand tools," "local regulations," "body panels," and "original equipment." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Body shop workers tend to reach similar levels of education than paint technicians. In fact, body shop workers are 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Paint technician vs. Body worker
Each career also uses different skills, according to real paint technician resumes. While paint technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "work ethic," "fiberglass," "paint guns," and "ladders," body workers use skills like "hand tools," "ambulances," "grinders," and "sales floor."
Body workers earn similar levels of education than paint technicians in general. They're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Paint technician vs. Auto body repairer
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, paint technicians are more likely to have skills like "work ethic," "fiberglass," "paint guns," and "ladders." But a auto body repairer is more likely to have skills like "mechanical repairs," "safety rules," "oil changes," and "water pumps."
Auto body repairers earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $47,862. Paint technicians earn the highest pay from the construction industry, with an average salary of $40,312.auto body repairers typically earn similar educational levels compared to paint technicians. Specifically, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Paint technician vs. Auto body worker
Even though a few skill sets overlap between paint technicians and auto body workers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a paint technician might have more use for skills like "work ethic," "fiberglass," "paint guns," and "ladders." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of auto body workers require skills like "body shop," "water pumps," "condensers," and "mig. "
In general, auto body workers hold similar degree levels compared to paint technicians. Auto body workers are 2.4% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of paint technician
Updated January 8, 2025
