Ashleigh has combined her passion for cars and colours to pursue a fulfilling career that embraces both. As an Apprentice Spray Painter, Ashleigh spends her days in the workshop buffing, polishing and painting vehicles to perfection.
Says Ashleigh….
I’ve got a passion for cars and I love colours and art. I wanted to combine all of this to see what it was like. I gave it a go and I absolutely loved it. I did really well so I just carried on. I was nominated for Apprentice of the Year so that says something.
I love being an apprentice Spray Painter. I like working with the whole car and making sure its perfect. You have to love what you do and you have to actually care. If I didn’t then I wouldn’t be bothered doing it. Everything was so foreign when I first became a Spray Painter. I didn’t know what an isocyanate was, and now I know it can kill you. I didn’t know what buffing or feather edging was, I just didn’t have a clue. I had so much to learn in the time I had and I was so stressed. Now I am so proud of myself, of how it’s all come out.
I work from 8.00 in the morning till 4.00 in the afternoon, with a lot of days going longer with overtime. There is a lot of pressure in the job, which isn’t good, but being busy is. I always look at the job sheet on the board to see what I’m doing and that controls my day. A typical day is usually painting two cars, puttying up about ten cars, buffing another five cars and about ten deliveries. It is quite stressful because we are just so busy. We have so many cars coming through and they want them done yesterday.
You can only do so much on the jobs that come in to be painted to original specs. You have to make sure the body is good and it stops there, you can’t just go over the top and add more colour because you want to. I would love to do airbrushing though because it’s more creative.
Colour matching is hard because there are so many new colours. The silvers, golds and even the whites are quite difficult. You look at them too long and your eyes go all glazey and funny. You just can’t see properly, especially when you do it for a couple of hours.
You have to be really careful about your safety here. The isocyanates in the hardener can make you infertile and that really worries me. I always make sure I wear my air-fed respirator or just a plain respirator. I always wear my overalls, dust mask and if there are fans nearby I always use them. The noise here drives me crazy and I have to wear earplugs. No one is going to tell me to do it so it’s up to me.
When I have finished painting a car it’s like opening a present on Christmas day! I know it sounds corny but I absolutely love it. When I unwrap it it’s like a present and when I buff it up it’s all gorgeous. Looking at what it was and what it has become is the best feeling.
I did a year at TAFE and two weeks work experience, and then I got this job. I am working quite well by myself but if I need any help it’s there of course. Generally I don’t get any help unless I ask for it.
If anyone is thinking of becoming a Spray Painter then they’ll have to put a lot into it. You have to care a lot about working with cars, have an eye for colour, and be physically fit because you’re bending down in different positions trying to spray cars. There’s no paperwork involved so that’s a bonus.
I would like to open my own business one day. I am happy to keep working under someone else and earn money that way but I am proud of all the jobs I do and I feel I do the best that I can.
Once I had to pick up a lady and I told her I actually painted her car. She wouldn’t believe that it was me and I said, ‘yes it was me, I am a painter as well’.
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