Painters Career

Wall covering and paint make surface attractive, clean, and bright. Additionally, paints and other sealers guard exterior surfaces from wear caused by exposure to the weather. Exteriors of houses are painted with sprayers and finishing touches are preformed with brushes. Interiors of buildings are painted with brushes, rollers, and texturing tools.

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Job Prospects Painters apply stain, paint, varnish, and other finishes to buildings and other structures. They select their finish and paint for the surface to be covered. While painting, a painter has to take into account various factors of paint such as durability, method of application, ease of handling, etc. These factors make the paint adhere properly. Applying new paint may require removing the old coat of paint by sanding, stripping, burning, wire brushing, abrasive blasting, and watering.

Painters trim and wash to remove grease and dirt, fill cracks, nail holes, sandpaper rough spots, and rebuff dust. On new surfaces, painters apply a sealer or primer to prepare the surface for the finish coat. Painters have to match colors and mix paints, relying upon the knowledge of color harmony and paint composition. In some large hardware stores or paint shops, matching and mixing are automated.

There are a number of ways to apply paint and matching coverings. Painters should be able to select the accurate paint applicator for each job relying on the surface to be covered, the features of the finish, and other factors. Some structures require a fountain or dip pressure roller whereas others need paint sprayer. Some jobs need a variety of applicators. Painters may use a variety of rollers, edger, and brushes for a single job. The appropriate tools facilitate painters to speed up the work and create the most attractive surface.

Some painting artisans specialize in creating exclusive finishes employing a variety of techniques. These techniques incorporates �broken color' a process established by applying more than one color in broken layers over a dissimilar base coat to achieve a textured effect or mottled effect. These techniques often employ glazes or washes applied over a firm colored background. Washes are made of latex-based paints, which are emaciated with water and can add a greater sense of texture and depth. There are a number of decorative painting techniques comprising of

• Stippling
• Rag-rolling
• Sponging
• Sheen striping
• Color blocking
• Faux finishes
• Marbling
• Distressing

Some of the painters specialize in painting industrial structures to avoid deterioration. Painters apply protective coating to steel bridges to fight decomposition. The waterborne acrylic solvent coating is commonly used, which is easy to apply and environmentally friendly. Painters may coat exterior and interior manufacturing equipments and facilities such as plant, storage tanks, lockers, ships, buildings, structural steel, and piping.

When painting industrial structure, painters ought to take essential safety precautions depending upon their projects. Painters, who specialize in interior application, for example, painting the inside of storage tanks, should wear a full-body protective suit. Sometimes, painters have to work at extreme heights.

When working on tall buildings, painters have to erect scaffoldings comprising of �swing stages' scaffolds suspended by cables or ropes attached to roof hooks. Painters have to use a bosun's chair (a swing-like device) while painting steeples and other conical structures. A painter has to carry out following responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Apply coatings such as lacquer, ink, and paint to decorate or protect surfaces using pens, spray guns, and brushes
• Evaluate finished surfaces of work-pieces to verify conformance to specifications and then retouch any defective sections
• Immerse work-pieces into coating materials for specific times
• Inspect work-pieces and read job orders to determine materials required and work procedures
• Drain, rinse, or wipe coated work-pieces to remove unnecessary coating materials
• Choose and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances as per the specifications using mechanical mixers and paddles
• Maintain and clean equipments and tools using brushes, solvents, and rags
• Clean surfaces of work-pieces to prepare for coating using solvents, cleaning fluids, steam, scrapers, brushes, cloth, and sandpaper
• Cover blemishes in work-pieces such as dents and nicks using putty
• Remove sections in surfaces of materials to be inlaid with attractive pieces using knives, patterns, and scissors
• Heat or melt coating materials to a particular temperature
• Place coated work-pieces in dryers or ovens for prescribed times to harden or dry finishes
• Glue and position attractive pieces in cutout sections of work-pieces

Educational Qualification
Some employers offer on-the-job training to their employees. However, candidates who are wishing to get into this field are advised to complete an apprenticeship program. This program helps them to learn various techniques used in the job. Many schools and colleges offers a number of formal and information training programs, which provide thorough information and better career foundation.

Painters must have good manual dexterity, color sense, and vision. They also need physical stamina and balance to work on platforms and ladders. Candidates holding a high school diploma or equivalent are preferred.

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