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.
158,740 people do this job in the US. $48,250 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 1%
- 0%
- 99%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 1%. Today's estimate: 1%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 29 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spray prepared surfaces with specified amounts of primers and decorative or finish coatings.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Disassemble, clean, and reassemble sprayers or power equipment, using solvents, wire brushes, and cloths.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean equipment and work areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Hold or position spray guns to direct spray onto articles.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Apply rust-resistant undercoats and caulk and seal seams.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor painting operations to identify flaws, such as blisters or streaks, and correct their causes.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Remove grease, dirt, paint, or rust from surfaces in preparation for paint application, using abrasives, solvents, brushes, blowtorches, washing tanks, or sandblasters. | 6% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Sand and apply sealer to properly dried finish. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Dispose of hazardous waste in an appropriate manner.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Fill small dents or scratches with body fillers and smooth surfaces to prepare for painting. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up portable equipment, such as ventilators, exhaust units, ladders, or scaffolding.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 29 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate auxiliary machines or equipment used in coating or painting processes.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic6% now, 6% by 2028
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic0% now, 0% by 2028
- Furniture Finishers4% now, 4% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders9% now, 9% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Automotive Repair and Maintenance27,290 people
- Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities16,500 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)11,470 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)11,340 people
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing6,680 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).