Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend spraying or rolling machines to coat or paint any of a wide variety of products, including glassware, cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood, with lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, varnish, glaze, enamel, oil, or rust-proofing materials. Includes painters of transportation vehicles such as painters in auto body repair facilities.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Equipment Maintenance
- Repairing
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Education and Training
- Chemistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Adjust controls on infrared ovens, heat lamps, portable ventilators, or exhaust units to speed the drying of surfaces between coats.
- Apply primer over any repairs made to surfaces.
- Fill small dents or scratches with body fillers and smooth surfaces to prepare for painting.
- Mix paints to match color specifications or original colors, stirring or thinning paints, using spatulas or power mixing equipment.
- Remove grease, dirt, paint, or rust from surfaces in preparation for paint application, using abrasives, solvents, brushes, blowtorches, washing tanks, or sandblasters.
- Sand and apply sealer to properly dried finish.
- Observe machine gauges and equipment operation to detect defects or deviations from standards, and make adjustments as necessary.
- Determine paint flow, viscosity, and coating quality by performing visual inspections, or by using viscometers.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (62.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (38.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (46.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 95% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 93% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 64% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 76% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 77% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 77% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 81% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 12.87%
- Occasional contact with others: 19.74%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0.55%
- Contact with others most of the time: 35.9%
- Constant contact with others: 30.93%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 55.52%
- Fairly important: 7.12%
- Important: 20.88%
- Very important: 13.45%
- Extremely important: 3.02%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.14%
- Fairly important: 4.01%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 21.7%
- Extremely important: 47.45%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 4.18%
- Limited freedom: 36.78%
- Some freedom: 35.4%
- A lot of freedom: 23.65%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 12.87%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 2.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.68%
- Every day: 67.66%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 40.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.41%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.6%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.35%
- Every day: 2.8%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 41.55%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 28.35%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.19%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.68%
- Every day: 20.23%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 38.77%
- Fairly serious: 20.46%
- Serious: 15.13%
- Very serious: 21.42%
- Extremely serious: 4.22%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2022
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O*NET-SOC 51-9124.00 · SOC 51-9124 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8