How To Become A Refinish Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a refinish technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a refinish technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.64 an hour? That's $45,014 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 5,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRefinish TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,014

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 1.76%

Black or African American 7.58%

Hispanic or Latino 19.42%

Unknown 4.13%

White 66.46%

Gender

female 5.28%

male 94.72%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a refinish technician

Explore refinish technician education requirements

Most common refinish technician degrees

High School Diploma

37.3 %

Associate

27.3 %

Bachelor's

15.5 %

Start to develop specific refinish technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Paint Brushes	38.18%
Body Shop	19.51%
Stencils	15.89%
I-Car	9.17%
OEM	8.32%

Complete relevant refinish technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New refinish technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a refinish technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real refinish technician resumes.

Research refinish technician duties and responsibilities

Apply all primers, sealers, basecoats and top coats as required.
Compose written reports of data collect from patient evaluation and present to department chief for thorough analysis of patient diagnosis.
Experience with both PPG and DuPont paint mixing systems, their applications, and all paint prep processes.

Prepare your refinish technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your refinish technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a refinish technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable refinish technician resume templates

Build a professional refinish technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your refinish technician resume.

Apply for refinish technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a refinish technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do refinish technicians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Refinish technician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Cons

Poor wages, physical damage to health, complicated repair procedures due to safety construction, liability due to lack of training, cost of having proper tooling, insurance companies dictating repairs. MSO’s working to monopolize shops, cost of materials