Spray painting is a more skilled job than you might think. It’s time-consuming work that offers car owners the chance to have customised colours on their vehicles. Whether you’re wanting to work for a business who operates from a large workshop or perhaps for a company who completes insurance repairs, there are several routes into this kind of work.
What are the general duties of a paint sprayer?
You may think that all you’ll be doing is painting cars in different colours, but there’s so much more work involved than just that. You’re likely to be doing everything any anything from setting up and cleaning down the painting equipment, sanding down and preparing the bodywork on the car or van you’re working on, matching and mixing colours, applying primer coats, main coats and any specialist finishes, and finally carrying out quality checks before the car heads back to its owner.
It’s a busy job that could involve you working on multiple vehicles a day, so attention to detail is crucial, as is having a good work ethic.
How much could you earn?
How much money you could earn each month completely depends on your experience. For example, if you’re entering at apprenticeship level, you’re likely to start on around £156 a week on average. If you’re more experienced and qualified, you could be looking at a salary of anywhere from £18,000 to £27,000 a year. This also depends on where you are based as salaries change throughout the country.
If you’re wanting to earn a little more than most, once you’re experienced enough you may want to start your own business. You could offer custom spray paint jobs and specialist finishes where you can charge more money. The possibilities are endless.
What does the job involve?
Above the regular day-to-day responsibilities, you’ll also need to make sure you’re wearing the appropriate protective equipment as you’re likely to be around paint fumes for the majority of your working day.
Whether your employer invests in the equipment or you purchase bits yourself, there are a number of things you’ll need to ensure you’re operating safely. One of the key pieces of kit you’ll need are respirator masks, as these will protect you from inhaling airborne particle, gases or vapours that are in the environment.
Your mask is likely to be one of the more important pieces of PPE/health and safety gear that you wear, so make sure you have a couple of spares on hand in case one of them breaks or gets damaged!