What does a spray painter do?
A spray painter applies spray paint to automobiles. They also apply primers, remove old paint, and repair minor damages. They must work quickly and accurately. They are also responsible for cleaning and maintaining their painting equipment.
Spray painter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real spray painter resumes:
- Replace, wood trim, windows, doors, and screen.
- Sanitize work area wearing proper PPE
- Paint various faux finishes, murals, etc.
- Assemble doors, jambs and windows back into frames.
- Prep including wall paper removal, sanding, drywall repairs, patching and caulking.
- Mask off areas of the truck or miscellaneous parts that are not being paint.
- Have helped hang, finish and paint residential sheetrock in new housing and small restaurants
- Prepare and apply stencils, computer-generate decals, or other decorative items to finish products.
- Touch up, sand, strip, mask, etch, alodine, water break testing.
- Move steel, stamp numbers, spray primer and finish coat of paint on custom hand rails.
- Prepare aircraft skins for application of chemical etching, by power abrading using jitterbug sander and Scotch-Brite.
- Mask, sand, aerodynamic sealant, wash/treat metal surfaces using skin brightener, alodine, PreKote.
- Prep primed, and apply base coats to all types of surfaces using a variety of materials and equipment.
- Execute daily operations of finishing line: sanding/preparation, primer coating, spray painting/lacquer, inspection, repairs.
- Apply color and clear topcoats of paint to kitchen cabinets using air assist airless and HVLP spray equipment.
Spray painter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Spray Painters are proficient in Painting Equipment, Spray Guns, and Coats. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Color vision.
We break down the percentage of Spray Painters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Painting Equipment, 11%
Painted crane parts using electrostatic painting equipment.
- Spray Guns, 9%
Used can-am spray guns, gravity-feed guns, cup guns, p-mix system, paint pumps and pressure pots.
- Coats, 8%
Prepped primed, and applied base coats to all types of surfaces using a variety of materials and equipment.
- Paint Guns, 8%
Operated and maintained paint pumps, equipment and paint guns.
- Primer, 6%
Executed daily operations of finishing line: sanding/preparation, primer coating, spray painting/lacquer, inspection, repairs.
- Surface Preparation, 5%
Complete surface preparation and application of high solid paint inside confined spaces and voids.
"painting equipment," "spray guns," and "coats" are among the most common skills that spray painters use at work. You can find even more spray painter responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform spray painter duties is detail oriented. Spray painters responsibilities require that "painters must be precise when creating or painting edges for overall quality of appearance." Spray painters also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "do details around the house, touch ups, for the builder to turn in the house for owner. "
Physical strength. A big part of what spray painters do relies on "physical strength." You can see how essential it is to spray painter responsibilities because "painters must be able to lift at least 50 pounds and move heavy items during the course of a job." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical spray painter tasks: "performed interior and exterior painting and other job related physical labor. "
The three companies that hire the most spray painters are:
- Eaton38 spray painters jobs
- Vencore3 spray painters jobs
- Systems
3 spray painters jobs
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Compare different spray painters
Spray painter vs. Interior decorator, painting
Painter Apprentices work for an organization either full time or part-time while undertaking formal training on the job. Their duties include working out needed materials quantity through job specifications, drawings, or surface measurements, and erecting structures to protect the area from paint such as ladders, scaffoldings, and drop sheets. Painter Apprentices are responsible for removing old paint, preparing surfaces, selecting paints, rolling, brushing, and spraying paint, wallpapering, and putting on decorative finishes such as marbling, color glaze, and stencils.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, spray painter responsibilities require skills like "painting equipment," "paint guns," "primer," and "surface preparation." Meanwhile a typical interior decorator, painting has skills in areas such as "faux finishes," "exterior painting," "decorative finishes," and "drywall installation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that interior decorators, painting earn slightly differ from spray painters. In particular, interior decorators, painting are 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a spray painter. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Spray painter vs. Painter apprentice
Each career also uses different skills, according to real spray painter resumes. While spray painter responsibilities can utilize skills like "painting equipment," "primer," "aerospace," and "safety guidelines," painter apprentices use skills like "work ethic," "scaffolding," "exterior surfaces," and "direct supervision."
On average, painter apprentices earn a lower salary than spray painters. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, painter apprentices earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $37,857. Whereas spray painters have higher pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $46,369.In general, painter apprentices achieve similar levels of education than spray painters. They're 0.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Spray painter vs. Painter supervisor
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, spray painters are more likely to have skills like "primer," "aerospace," "safety guidelines," and "enamel." But a painter supervisor is more likely to have skills like "safety procedures," "safety regulations," "exterior painting," and "drywall repair."
Painter supervisors earn the best pay in the automotive industry, where they command an average salary of $54,015. Spray painters earn the highest pay from the automotive industry, with an average salary of $46,369.painter supervisors typically earn similar educational levels compared to spray painters. Specifically, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Spray painter vs. Auto customize painter
Even though a few skill sets overlap between spray painters and auto customize painters, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a spray painter might have more use for skills like "paint guns," "primer," "surface preparation," and "aerospace." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of auto customize painters require skills like "customer service," "customer issues," "customer care," and "outbound calls. "
In general, auto customize painters hold similar degree levels compared to spray painters. Auto customize painters are 1.1% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of spray painter
Updated January 8, 2025
