How to hire a production painter

How to hire a production painter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step production painter hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a production painter job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new production painter
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a production painter, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A production painter's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, production painters from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of production painters.

   Type of Production Painter	Description	Hourly rate
   Production Painter	Painting and coating workers paint and coat, often with machines, a wide range of products, including cars, jewelry, and ceramics.	$11-21
   Painter	Painters are skilled professionals who handle the painting needs of clients. They work closely with their clients to ensure that they will be able to do what is expected of them... Show more	$14-28
   Auto Body Painter	An auto body painter is a trained professional who specializes in applying paint and finishing to the exterior of vehicles such as cars, buses, and trucks. Their job entails understanding the project requirements, preparing the necessary paint and materials, filling scratches to smoothen surfaces, utilizing spray guns and other equipment, and adhering to goals and deadlines... Show more	$12-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Safety Regulations
   • Paint Guns
   • Spray Guns
   • Coats
   • Surface Preparation
   • Painting Operations
   • Painting Processes
   • Pressure Pot
   • Assembly Line
   • Airless Spray
   • PPE
   • FAA
   • Hoists
   • Visual Inspections

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Execute production activities as directed by supervisor, including performing GMP cell culture of biologic products using closed-system device.
   • Entrust to paint luxury cars, including Ferrari, BMW, and Maserati.

   More production painter duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your production painter job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A production painter salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a production painter in Louisiana may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level production painter usually earns less than a senior-level production painter. Additionally, a production painter with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average production painter salary

   $15.48hourly

   $32,193 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level production painter salary

   $23,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average production painter salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Iowa	$37,101	$18
   2	California	$36,640	$18
   3	Minnesota	$34,531	$17
   4	Kansas	$33,918	$16
   5	Ohio	$33,727	$16
   6	Utah	$32,749	$16
   7	Nebraska	$32,468	$16
   8	Missouri	$31,268	$15
   9	Kentucky	$29,879	$14
   10	Colorado	$29,842	$14
   11	North Carolina	$27,474	$13
   12	Texas	$25,071	$12
   13	Florida	$24,286	$12
   14	Georgia	$23,555	$11
   15	Oklahoma	$23,426	$11

   Average production painter salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	General Electric	$43,083	$20.71	25
   2	Northrop Grumman	$41,910	$20.15	23
   3	BlueScope Steel	$41,517	$19.96	7
   4	AAON	$40,678	$19.56	13
   5	Valmont Industries	$39,635	$19.06	10
   6	Ring Power Cat	$39,123	$18.81
   7	Pentair	$37,009	$17.79
   8	Toro	$36,768	$17.68	5
   9	Donaldson	$36,554	$17.57	21
   10	Lexington Manufacturing	$34,325	$16.50
   11	BlueScope Buildings North America	$33,755	$16.23
   12	Fetzer's, Inc.	$32,104	$15.43
   13	Snelling	$31,986	$15.38	9
   14	Kelly Services	$31,881	$15.33	78
   15	John Deere	$31,707	$15.24	4
   16	Randstad North America, Inc.	$31,170	$14.99	7
   17	The Wood Company	$31,026	$14.92	2
   18	PDS Tech	$31,003	$14.91	11
   19	AMETEK	$30,662	$14.74	8
   20	Weiss Technik of North America, Inc.	$30,588	$14.71	2

4. Writing a production painter job description

   A production painter job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a production painter job description:

   Production painter job description example

   Schedule: Monday - Friday 6:00am - 4:30pm

   Pay: Based on experience

   Job Duties and Responsibilities:

   • Read work orders and similar documentation to stage product for painting.
   • Prepare product for painting, to include clean and masking the product.
   • Prepare paint for use in the booth and in the hand spray guns.
   • Use cleaning fluids to clean the machines and the work area.
   • Apply paint to various sized parts, miscellaneous components, and equipment frames.
   • Operate paint booths.
   • Operate hand-held paint spray guns.
   • Observe paint results for quality.
   • Make decisions regarding acceptability of results.
   • Troubleshoot when product appearance is less than desired.
   • Control temperature, operate and clean paint equipment, check and adjust paint viscosity.
   • Other duties include cleaning and maintenance of paint line, properly disposing of hazardous waste, and to service and check chemical levels in appropriate locations.

   Competencies: Level 1 –Paint Operator

   • Able to read and follow routine work processes and procedures.
   • Requires a moderate degree of mechanical, technical and/or analytic knowledge and experience.
   • May include requirements for concise arithmetic skills and ability to communicate in writing.
   • Some troubleshooting on product appearance requirement.
   • Ability to operate a paint gun, and other hand/power tools.
   • Ability to read and follow written instructions regarding paint mixing.
   • Ability to exchange information with co-workers. Take and give work instructions, schedules and reports of work completed.
   • Understand and adhere to safety guidelines while working near chemicals and paint line. Always wear required personal protective equipment while performing work. May require wearing a mask/respirator.

   Education and Cognitive Skills:

   A high school diploma or GED demonstrates possession of the following skills:

   • Basic math skills to record and calculate production results.
   • Basic reading skills to understand instructions, shipping documents and warnings.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right production painter for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your production painter job on Zippia to find and recruit production painter candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting production painters requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new production painter

   Once you've found the production painter candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new production painter first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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