How To Become A Vehicle Painter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a vehicle painter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a vehicle painter. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.13 an hour? That's $37,714 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 2,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreVehicle PainterUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,714

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.0

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.43%

Asian 2.39%

Black or African American 9.08%

Hispanic or Latino 23.37%

Unknown 3.62%

White 61.10%

Gender

female 8.33%

male 91.67%

Age - 41.5

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 - 41.5

Stress level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a vehicle painter

Explore vehicle painter education requirements

Most common vehicle painter degrees

Bachelor's

37.5 %

Associate

25.0 %

High School Diploma

12.5 %

Start to develop specific vehicle painter skills

Skills	Percentages
Mask	100.00%

Complete relevant vehicle painter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New vehicle painters 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 vehicle painter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real vehicle painter resumes.

Research vehicle painter duties and responsibilities

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

Prepare your vehicle painter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your vehicle painter 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 vehicle painter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable vehicle painter resume templates

Build a professional vehicle painter 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 vehicle painter resume.