How to become a spray painter
Official title: Spray painter (excluding ships and motor vehicles)
Also called: Spray painter (industrial), Spray painter (industrial)
Spray painter (excluding ships and motor vehicles) applies decorative and protective coatings of paint, enamel and lacquer on metal, wooden and other manufactured articles with a hand-spraying device. He/she selects and mixes paints to obtain the desired colour, and pours coating material into tank of spraying device.
Main tasks
- Preparing surfaces to be coated using a variety of methods to remove grease, dirt and rust
- Applying paint as well as protective coatings of enamel or varnish on metal, wooden and other manufactured products, usually with a hand-spraying device
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
- Structural steel/Ship painter
- Motor vehicle spray painter
- Building painter
- Wall/Ceiling paperhanger
- Building maintenance worker
- Building structure cleaner and related worker
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Questions people ask
Will AI change the work of a spray painter?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026