How to Become an Auto Body Painter

When a person enters the world of auto body repair, sooner or later s/he needs to decide if they want to become a painter. Auto Body technicians and Painters may be a different breed, but they need to work together to turn out a beautiful repair. This article gives advice on how to pursue a career in auto body painting.

Things You'll Need

• A solid background in high school computers, math, science, and art.
• I-classes
• The training classes required by the paint company that is carried by your employing shop.
• At least three years Painter's helper experience.
• Eventually you will need to acquire paint spray guns.

Instructions

1. Do everything you can to land a high school apprenticeship at an auto body shop working in the paint department.

2. Get yourself an after school job working for a body shop. You may have to be a porter or car washer, but the goal is to become acquainted with people who are in the industry. Hard workers who are pleasant and willing to do what it takes to get the job accomplished will eventually be taken under the wing of the technicians to learn on the job.

3. Tell the owner and head painter that your interest is in learning the paint business. Ask if you can begin as a helper in the paint department. The first jobs you can expect will be washing the vehicles, masking off parts of the vehicle, and sanding body fill. Sanding is essential for you to learn how you smooth you like the body fill. Eventually you will spray primer. This practice putting on primer will give you the proper spray techniques needed to become a true painter.

4. At this point, entering a auto body technician's school is probably a good idea. However, now is when you need a mentor, and most painters will not teach their helpers to mix paint. If you are lucky enough to find an on the job mentor to teach you to mix colors and give you experience shooting it onto cars, you are indeed lucky. Sometimes the shop owner is willing to allow you to paint with the painter during a slow season, or at the last part of the day, on a personally owned vehicle.

5. Ask for help improving your technique from better technicians. This is where you will try to get the reputation of being able to lay the paint on like glass. This take time and practice. Expect to make mistakes that you will have to fix once in while.

6. Update your skills as frequently as possible by attending I-car and paint classes. Read body shop orientated magazines for new ideas and immediate information about new paint materials and techniques.

Tips & Warnings

• When working in a large shop, the procedure is that the painter's helpers prepare the vehicle for the painter, and the painters do nothing more than mix paints and shoot cars.

• In smaller shops, painters are often expected to do everything from washing the vehicles, to preparing the work,and then painting the cars.

• Production painters can make three figure incomes if they work long hours. However, they must be excellent at color match and organization skills. Often they pay for their helper in some way themselves. These jobs are only in large shops.

• Always wear the proper safety equipment as isocyanides are in the paint and have terrible long term consequences.

• In order to add paint guns to your tool kit, see if you can buy them from painters who are getting out of the business. Also, see if paint reps have any that the company is changing out.

• Stay on good terms with all paint company representatives. They will help you find new jobs, give you training, provide you with leads on new helpers and let you try new products.

• If a shop owner gives you the chance to get training writing estimates, grab the chance. There may come a day when spraying paint no longer appeals to you.

• Don't be too brave when working with paints. They are dangerous in the long term and can even affect the future reproductive skills of your offspring. Use good masks and paint suits to protect your body.

• Just because you paint in your own back yard garage doesn't make you a professional painter. Shop owners are sometimes skeptical of an applicant's ability if their only experience is not in a commercial business.

• Spray booths all operate differently and you will need to be educated in the merits of each.