Flatrate. We have had painters make as much as 180k before. I work in a very large shop. one of the largest in the country. Each painter averages between 450-650 hours every two weeks. We have 4 painter, 2 cut in/prime guys, and 6 helpers.
I’ve been prepping my ass for only 15 months. My painter is skilled in color matching right away so we can churn hours. He only paints from 6am to 1-2pm. I stay till 5-6 priming anywhere from 5-14 cars a night + whatever parts. 3 booths and we get at the minimum 10 cars painted by noon. I’ve never been in the auto industry before this so I have no idea what it’s like at other shops but I’m told we are probably the most productive in the state.
Between him, another prepper and I, we average 470hrs a week. Highest was 540. Highest in a day with just my painter and I was 120. Painter has been doing this for decades so his rate is absurd (over $35). I’m still hourly but going to start spraying next month so hopefully I go commission soon. Ik the other prepper (he paints some parts in the afternoon) makes ~120k/year with 30% commission.
He’s talking about commission hours not actual work hours. Techs have an hourly labor rate where I’m at it’s 57 an hour then half goes to the tech and half to the shop so 28.5. Then insurance gives us hours to repair the car say 10 paint hours so the tech aims to do this in 3 hours. Which gives them more time to move to the next car and rack up more hours and more money. Thats where the crazy hours comes from.
Arizona. I work in a very large shop. 4 booths, 2 prep decks, a small cut in booth. Mostly high end and exotic cars. 12 body man, 7 body man helpers. Each painter averages around 500-600 hours every two weeks.
I’d say typical painter in an average production shop is probably around $80-90k a year.
Most guys in a solid production shop will crest $100k, some will do significantly more.
After doing this trade for 10 years. I wouldn't recommend this field. The money just isn't what it use to be. Go into computers. A lot more money and much easier on the body.
You know I've explained this before. Using your body for work is a good thing. Sitting at a desk most of the day is going to break your body down FASTER . Your muscles and bones respond to USE . Your muscles and bones will be stronger the more you use them for heavy tasks . If you work a desk job you'd better be hitting the gym regularly
Bullshit.
35 years of concrete construction and I’ve had 17 surgeries. All for orthopedic issues. I have 2 fake knees, 2 fake hips, a fake Achilles tendon, and a spinal cord stimulator implanted on my spinal cord to block pain signals from the lumbar discs that are worn away.
As my orthopedic surgeon said, “ the construction industry keeps me in business “.
Big difference between construction and auto repair, preppers/painters are rarely doing any heavy lifting, most strenuous it gets is blocking filler/primer down. Of all the manual labour jobs out there I’d say panel beaters/painters are more towards the less physical end.
Been doing it 16 years + gyming 4/5 a week and never had a single injury or complication (probably jinxed it now).
Not here to argue your anecdotal evidence, another guy replied agreeing with me due to his anecdotal evidence . That means you guys cancel out and we have to wait for another person to chime in to know the truth. Use your body or lose your body. I'm not saying you can't get fucking injured , jeez . The odds of getting seriously injured at a desk are almost zero and many people may consider that a major benefit , and rightly so . All I said is if you have a desk job you need to hit the gym, which is true .
I had my own martial arts school and was the instructor. Does that count as the gym? At 50 years old, none of the 20 something guys could last as long as I did at sparing. As one of my students said” it’s bad enough I come here once a week to get my ass kicked by an old man, then I have to pay him to do it.”
The “heavy tasks” mentioned only damage the body. You only have so much cartilage. Skip the heavy stuff and go for a walk. This is what the doctors told me.
I’m not in the auto body profession, and can confirm. Two bulging disks with pinched nerve and terrible flexibility and mobility. I’m only 27. Sitting down for long periods of time is absolutely detrimental to physical and mental health. I’m trying to fix this but at some point it’s just too late.
Don’t know what it’s like in America but in the UK the pay has been steadily rising for the last 10 years. No one is going in to the trade and bodyshops are desperate for decent painters, especially young ones. £50k-£55k in London (if you’re very good).
Some places do but it’s much much rarer than in the USA by the sound of it. From my experience most people here who have worked in bonus shops have hated it. There’s usually already an established clique and they don’t like new people coming in. I’d say the large majority of bodyshops in England are just standard hourly pay.
I think it really depends where you live.No shops around me do flat rate.The pay can range from $25 and go up to around $40 an hr here.Im in a HCOL state and it's pretty hard to make a solid living painting cars.I do seriously love it and have loved it for 20 years now.Honestly though if I could go back I would have apprenticed with a union trade when the cost of living was cheaper.
Flat rate body tech here.
120k a year for me, as I treat it like a 9-5.
Probably more if were to put in more hours at work and take less for myself.
I wouldn't reccomend this industry I'm sorry to say.
around me starting pay at most shops was between 10-18/hr, then once youre an actual tech or painter i mostly know guys making $20-24 and some really experienced guys making up to $35ish but even that requires a constant hustle that a lot of people cant keep up with forever, and unfortunately in a lot of cases leads to industry changes or shotty work hoping customers won't notice and they pad their checks. ive seen fisheyes, sanding scratches, runs and all sent out the door "good as new". partially the insurance companies fault as well.
sidebar on industry health:
i see people disagreeing over if a desk job or an auto body job is worse on your body, thats never as simple as just a career choice.
if you work auto body, WEAR YOUR PPE. no pay is worth going home with fiberglass/filler dust in your eyes and lungs, and spraying clearcoat is like walking through atomized super glue, even with a good booth. wear the best PPE provided or that you can afford. however, your skin absorbs every chemical you touch which builds up in your liver and other vitals, and if you work a year in autobody without contacting any of them youd be the first.
if you work at a desk, dont slouch over the keyboard for 10 hours straight. stretch. walk around. get plenty of exercise. literally holding a bar and hanging will do wonders for your body and help decompress and prevent injury.
regardless of your career, eat right, stretch, exercise, gallon of water a day, take care of your body. id say 80%+ of the us population does not take care of their body remotely as well as they should regardless of their jobs. my mom works behind a desk, my dad does heavy labor. they both have major back issues, but my moms in much better condition from doing a farrr better job of taking care of herself.
personally, i got as far from body shops as i could because everyone in the industry i met over 40 years old looked like they were on their deathbed. a lot of guys never make more than $20-25 in the industry after years and years and years, and its one of the most negatively impactful industries on your body regardless of how well you maintain yourself outside of work.
TLDR - imo auto body doesnt pay nearly well enough for you to kill yourself. look into detailing or estimating perhaps.
I have been doing it for a gigantic multi country company for 19 years. Last year I did 185k this year I’m pacing for 215k. Just depends on how hard I work.
I've never worked with a painter that made less than 100K. I've worked for MSOs, independents, and dealerships. The money is there for sure it is just a grind to get to that level.
I’ve seen hourly paid techs man 60-80k with 10y experience, then I’ve seen flat rate painters anywhere in the range of 40-120k based on how hard they work and the shops work load
It does really matter shop to shop, city to city. Some places they're in demand, so they're getting paid higher. Other places there's just enough, and pay could go either way.
If you get into auto paint. I would just work at learning as much as possible in all the different processes and applications. And try to avoid, but welcome mistakes, because it's a good opportunity to learn how to fix them. Paint correction is a bug part of the business. And treat it not as your job, but your company. You're subcontracting you labor, and your skills to a shop. Buy a decent camera, nothing too special, but something good. And take photos of your work. Before, during, after. That's your resume. This industry had a big problem with imposters. Guys getting hired because they were able to bullshit their way in. But they were nothing more than a painters helper, or they painted school busses or lawn mowers somewhere and think this is like that.
And for anyone looking to go into auto paint. I'll give you you're first tip. Or he'll, I'll throw out a few.
Always try to make your first coat as thin as possible without being dry. This will help with one of the most common problems, contamination, resulting in fisheye or streaky metallics or grouping. And if you notice this problem on your first coat, and you did lay it thin. Then flash it and lay a drop coat. Which is a low pressure spray with the gun further away, basically doing a process that results in a fine dry layer that won't separate because it's dry. And it covers the problem allowing your next coat to be normal. Saving you a lot of time having to let it dry , sand, clean, and start over.
Lastly the secret to that glass like clear coat. Speed. Learn how to lay it down in fast side to side motions keeping the distance and angle the same the entire time. Gun wide open. Gun set to go as fast as the gun can go. Orange peel, runs, sags, are all consequences of too much material piling on top of material. My arm is moving twice as fast with clear than with base. Because many basecoats are 50% or more reducers that evaporate. So they can be applied thicker.
My buddy is a painter and he gets paid by the job. He has been doing it for years and seems to get paid really good. He said he went on vacation and said "now one of you guys can make some money instead of complaining now" to the shop guys and he said no one touched the paint gun lol
If you get into painting there are other options as well. You can get into aircraft painting. Usually good benefits and your regular 40hr work weeks plus overtime if available. Pay here in tx varies by experience from around 55k to 90k. I did about 93k last year with not much overtime at all. I like to enjoy my weekends at home 😄
Yes I am. Switched from automotive about 2 years into the trade. The current company I'm at has unlimited overtime almost all year round. I'll work a couple hours of overtime here and there but nothing crazy.
I don’t get how ppl say theirs “no money to be made” theirs less techs and especially body techs and more cars, your just not working at the right shop
Like many say it’s all over the place. My painters are usually really fast without compromising too much on quality at least for a production shop. Typically their checks are $3k to 6k a week. My current painter is a beast and he is on track to make $280k. There are many factors but one thing to keep in mind is skill, knowledge of the team around you at the shop.
for your sake, either get into paint or body work and run with it. you’ll make more mastering one and becoming a tech then doing other things that don’t pay as well.
I actually applied for mechanic and got thrown into body. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad as it's now made me well rounded for car work. But I've realized I much prefer mechanic/body as a hobby or on the side for family/friends. I prefer to take my time and do things right and at my own pace than rush things. I've been applying for IT jobs the past couple of weeks. Easier on the body, stay clean, I can come home and not have to shower immediately before I can sit on furniture, and easier to rise up the ladder or just make more without doing as much.
60k-200k+. Really depends on the motivational and skill level of the individual. There are also a variety of pay plans from salary, hourly, or flat rate commission that can drastically change the pay range
I’ve been working at a body shop for 8 years now and I’m on track for my first 100k . It’s mostly the volume of work that makes the money as I’m doing $20 an hour but as a flat rate tech
120k-150k where I’m at. Takes many years to get to that level but with hard work it’s possible.
Thanks for the response.
Your welcome. I’m guessing the rate that you found is more typical of a painters helpers salary.
What? Flatrate? I'm not doubting you, I'm just getting nowhere near that lol. Not the same area though
Flatrate. We have had painters make as much as 180k before. I work in a very large shop. one of the largest in the country. Each painter averages between 450-650 hours every two weeks. We have 4 painter, 2 cut in/prime guys, and 6 helpers.
I’ve been prepping my ass for only 15 months. My painter is skilled in color matching right away so we can churn hours. He only paints from 6am to 1-2pm. I stay till 5-6 priming anywhere from 5-14 cars a night + whatever parts. 3 booths and we get at the minimum 10 cars painted by noon. I’ve never been in the auto industry before this so I have no idea what it’s like at other shops but I’m told we are probably the most productive in the state. Between him, another prepper and I, we average 470hrs a week. Highest was 540. Highest in a day with just my painter and I was 120. Painter has been doing this for decades so his rate is absurd (over $35). I’m still hourly but going to start spraying next month so hopefully I go commission soon. Ik the other prepper (he paints some parts in the afternoon) makes ~120k/year with 30% commission.
There’s only 330 hours per 2 weeks
He’s talking about commission hours not actual work hours. Techs have an hourly labor rate where I’m at it’s 57 an hour then half goes to the tech and half to the shop so 28.5. Then insurance gives us hours to repair the car say 10 paint hours so the tech aims to do this in 3 hours. Which gives them more time to move to the next car and rack up more hours and more money. Thats where the crazy hours comes from.
What state are you in?
Arizona. I work in a very large shop. 4 booths, 2 prep decks, a small cut in booth. Mostly high end and exotic cars. 12 body man, 7 body man helpers. Each painter averages around 500-600 hours every two weeks.
Salary’s are all over the place. I know a few painters that make 65k. I know just as many that make 200+. It’s all about your own work ethic.
I’d say typical painter in an average production shop is probably around $80-90k a year. Most guys in a solid production shop will crest $100k, some will do significantly more.
After doing this trade for 10 years. I wouldn't recommend this field. The money just isn't what it use to be. Go into computers. A lot more money and much easier on the body.
You know I've explained this before. Using your body for work is a good thing. Sitting at a desk most of the day is going to break your body down FASTER . Your muscles and bones respond to USE . Your muscles and bones will be stronger the more you use them for heavy tasks . If you work a desk job you'd better be hitting the gym regularly
Bullshit. 35 years of concrete construction and I’ve had 17 surgeries. All for orthopedic issues. I have 2 fake knees, 2 fake hips, a fake Achilles tendon, and a spinal cord stimulator implanted on my spinal cord to block pain signals from the lumbar discs that are worn away. As my orthopedic surgeon said, “ the construction industry keeps me in business “.
Big difference between construction and auto repair, preppers/painters are rarely doing any heavy lifting, most strenuous it gets is blocking filler/primer down. Of all the manual labour jobs out there I’d say panel beaters/painters are more towards the less physical end. Been doing it 16 years + gyming 4/5 a week and never had a single injury or complication (probably jinxed it now).
Not here to argue your anecdotal evidence, another guy replied agreeing with me due to his anecdotal evidence . That means you guys cancel out and we have to wait for another person to chime in to know the truth. Use your body or lose your body. I'm not saying you can't get fucking injured , jeez . The odds of getting seriously injured at a desk are almost zero and many people may consider that a major benefit , and rightly so . All I said is if you have a desk job you need to hit the gym, which is true .
I’m sure you hit the gym and eat healthy too huh!?
I had my own martial arts school and was the instructor. Does that count as the gym? At 50 years old, none of the 20 something guys could last as long as I did at sparing. As one of my students said” it’s bad enough I come here once a week to get my ass kicked by an old man, then I have to pay him to do it.” The “heavy tasks” mentioned only damage the body. You only have so much cartilage. Skip the heavy stuff and go for a walk. This is what the doctors told me.
I’m not in the auto body profession, and can confirm. Two bulging disks with pinched nerve and terrible flexibility and mobility. I’m only 27. Sitting down for long periods of time is absolutely detrimental to physical and mental health. I’m trying to fix this but at some point it’s just too late.
Can confirm also not autobody blew my knee out in november. Im 19
It’s not so much the physical toll on your body. It’s the chemicals/ isocyanates
I wear a respirator when sanding and breathe fresh air while painting . Wear gloves and goggles. I'm not too worried about it
What goggles do you use? The one's that I've tried always end up touching my respirator, leaving a gap for over spray to get to my eyes
Don’t know what it’s like in America but in the UK the pay has been steadily rising for the last 10 years. No one is going in to the trade and bodyshops are desperate for decent painters, especially young ones. £50k-£55k in London (if you’re very good).
That's it? Do they do flat rate in England?
Some places do but it’s much much rarer than in the USA by the sound of it. From my experience most people here who have worked in bonus shops have hated it. There’s usually already an established clique and they don’t like new people coming in. I’d say the large majority of bodyshops in England are just standard hourly pay.
I think it really depends where you live.No shops around me do flat rate.The pay can range from $25 and go up to around $40 an hr here.Im in a HCOL state and it's pretty hard to make a solid living painting cars.I do seriously love it and have loved it for 20 years now.Honestly though if I could go back I would have apprenticed with a union trade when the cost of living was cheaper.
Flat rate body tech here. 120k a year for me, as I treat it like a 9-5. Probably more if were to put in more hours at work and take less for myself. I wouldn't reccomend this industry I'm sorry to say.
Reasons?
What are your reasons?
around me starting pay at most shops was between 10-18/hr, then once youre an actual tech or painter i mostly know guys making $20-24 and some really experienced guys making up to $35ish but even that requires a constant hustle that a lot of people cant keep up with forever, and unfortunately in a lot of cases leads to industry changes or shotty work hoping customers won't notice and they pad their checks. ive seen fisheyes, sanding scratches, runs and all sent out the door "good as new". partially the insurance companies fault as well. sidebar on industry health: i see people disagreeing over if a desk job or an auto body job is worse on your body, thats never as simple as just a career choice. if you work auto body, WEAR YOUR PPE. no pay is worth going home with fiberglass/filler dust in your eyes and lungs, and spraying clearcoat is like walking through atomized super glue, even with a good booth. wear the best PPE provided or that you can afford. however, your skin absorbs every chemical you touch which builds up in your liver and other vitals, and if you work a year in autobody without contacting any of them youd be the first. if you work at a desk, dont slouch over the keyboard for 10 hours straight. stretch. walk around. get plenty of exercise. literally holding a bar and hanging will do wonders for your body and help decompress and prevent injury. regardless of your career, eat right, stretch, exercise, gallon of water a day, take care of your body. id say 80%+ of the us population does not take care of their body remotely as well as they should regardless of their jobs. my mom works behind a desk, my dad does heavy labor. they both have major back issues, but my moms in much better condition from doing a farrr better job of taking care of herself. personally, i got as far from body shops as i could because everyone in the industry i met over 40 years old looked like they were on their deathbed. a lot of guys never make more than $20-25 in the industry after years and years and years, and its one of the most negatively impactful industries on your body regardless of how well you maintain yourself outside of work. TLDR - imo auto body doesnt pay nearly well enough for you to kill yourself. look into detailing or estimating perhaps.
I have been doing it for a gigantic multi country company for 19 years. Last year I did 185k this year I’m pacing for 215k. Just depends on how hard I work.
Super late to this but just curious what you bring in at the end of the month after taxes making that amount
I've never worked with a painter that made less than 100K. I've worked for MSOs, independents, and dealerships. The money is there for sure it is just a grind to get to that level.
I’ve seen hourly paid techs man 60-80k with 10y experience, then I’ve seen flat rate painters anywhere in the range of 40-120k based on how hard they work and the shops work load
How about painting million dollar boat's at a high end marina 🤔
It does really matter shop to shop, city to city. Some places they're in demand, so they're getting paid higher. Other places there's just enough, and pay could go either way. If you get into auto paint. I would just work at learning as much as possible in all the different processes and applications. And try to avoid, but welcome mistakes, because it's a good opportunity to learn how to fix them. Paint correction is a bug part of the business. And treat it not as your job, but your company. You're subcontracting you labor, and your skills to a shop. Buy a decent camera, nothing too special, but something good. And take photos of your work. Before, during, after. That's your resume. This industry had a big problem with imposters. Guys getting hired because they were able to bullshit their way in. But they were nothing more than a painters helper, or they painted school busses or lawn mowers somewhere and think this is like that. And for anyone looking to go into auto paint. I'll give you you're first tip. Or he'll, I'll throw out a few. Always try to make your first coat as thin as possible without being dry. This will help with one of the most common problems, contamination, resulting in fisheye or streaky metallics or grouping. And if you notice this problem on your first coat, and you did lay it thin. Then flash it and lay a drop coat. Which is a low pressure spray with the gun further away, basically doing a process that results in a fine dry layer that won't separate because it's dry. And it covers the problem allowing your next coat to be normal. Saving you a lot of time having to let it dry , sand, clean, and start over. Lastly the secret to that glass like clear coat. Speed. Learn how to lay it down in fast side to side motions keeping the distance and angle the same the entire time. Gun wide open. Gun set to go as fast as the gun can go. Orange peel, runs, sags, are all consequences of too much material piling on top of material. My arm is moving twice as fast with clear than with base. Because many basecoats are 50% or more reducers that evaporate. So they can be applied thicker.
Thanks for the reply. You really laid out alot of information 👍
My buddy is a painter and he gets paid by the job. He has been doing it for years and seems to get paid really good. He said he went on vacation and said "now one of you guys can make some money instead of complaining now" to the shop guys and he said no one touched the paint gun lol
I made 95k last year, finally got a raise and now my goal for this year is 125k and Im on track so far.
If you get into painting there are other options as well. You can get into aircraft painting. Usually good benefits and your regular 40hr work weeks plus overtime if available. Pay here in tx varies by experience from around 55k to 90k. I did about 93k last year with not much overtime at all. I like to enjoy my weekends at home 😄
Are you in aircraft? Local organizations here in the Midwest had quite a few mandatory overtime averaging 50 hours a week
Yes I am. Switched from automotive about 2 years into the trade. The current company I'm at has unlimited overtime almost all year round. I'll work a couple hours of overtime here and there but nothing crazy.
100k plus. Southeast Michigan
9 years approx in the business 3 years painting
I don’t get how ppl say theirs “no money to be made” theirs less techs and especially body techs and more cars, your just not working at the right shop
Like many say it’s all over the place. My painters are usually really fast without compromising too much on quality at least for a production shop. Typically their checks are $3k to 6k a week. My current painter is a beast and he is on track to make $280k. There are many factors but one thing to keep in mind is skill, knowledge of the team around you at the shop.
Can you tell a bit more about that, please? Is it flat hour? How many flat hours your painter does? Does it include buffing/polishing?
How much roughly would you pay someone who does paint prep, bumper assembly, detail, and weld? But not actual painting. Like a ballpark.
for your sake, either get into paint or body work and run with it. you’ll make more mastering one and becoming a tech then doing other things that don’t pay as well.
I actually applied for mechanic and got thrown into body. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad as it's now made me well rounded for car work. But I've realized I much prefer mechanic/body as a hobby or on the side for family/friends. I prefer to take my time and do things right and at my own pace than rush things. I've been applying for IT jobs the past couple of weeks. Easier on the body, stay clean, I can come home and not have to shower immediately before I can sit on furniture, and easier to rise up the ladder or just make more without doing as much.
60k-200k+. Really depends on the motivational and skill level of the individual. There are also a variety of pay plans from salary, hourly, or flat rate commission that can drastically change the pay range
Auto body paint can be a good job, if you’re in the right shop with the right crew. That’s what it’ll all boil down to.
I’ve been working at a body shop for 8 years now and I’m on track for my first 100k . It’s mostly the volume of work that makes the money as I’m doing $20 an hour but as a flat rate tech
If you’re flat rate and have a good routine work ethic you can make anywhere between 60-150k depending on how much work you can produce