Top 12 Journeyman Painter Skills to Put on Your Resume
Painting is crowded, noisy with competition, and employers skim fast. A resume that actually lists the right capabilities—clearly, with proof—can tilt the table in your favor. The twelve journeyman painter skills below deserve space on the page; sharpen them, show them, and you’ll stand out.
Journeyman Painter Skills
- Color Matching
- Spray Equipment
- Surface Preparation
- Faux Finishing
- Wallpaper Hanging
- Lead Safety
- Scaffolding Setup
- HVLP Sprayers
- Airless Sprayers
- Drywall Repair
- Epoxy Coatings
- Staining Techniques
1. Color Matching
Color matching means recreating or coordinating hues so new paint melts into old—walls, trim, cabinetry—without a visible seam or jarring shift.
Why It's Important
It keeps touch-ups invisible, additions cohesive, and clients happy. Consistency is credibility.
How to Improve Color Matching Skills
Know undertones: Train your eye to spot warm/cool shifts and muddy undertones. The wheel matters, but undertones rule the room.
Mix and journal: Practice tinting and shading; log formulas and dry-down results on labeled swatch cards.
Control lighting: Match under the same color temperature you’ll live with. High-CRI lights help; daylight can lie by the hour.
Use tools: Apps can get you close. A handheld colorimeter or spectro gets you closer.
Sample first: Brush out test cards, let them cure, and check at multiple times of day.
Cross-brand savvy: Keep a personal deck of cross-references between major paint lines.
Keep learning: Workshops and trade groups like the Painting Contractors Association (PCA) are worth the time.
How to Display Color Matching Skills on Your Resume
2. Spray Equipment
Spray equipment covers airless rigs, HVLP turbines, and conventional guns that atomize coatings for fast, even coverage.
Why It's Important
Speed, uniformity, reach. Large surfaces, complex profiles, tight deadlines—sprayers handle what brushes and rollers can’t, or can’t quickly.
How to Improve Spray Equipment Skills
Clean religiously: Break down guns, flush lines, and oil seals after every session.
Strain coatings: Use paint strainers to protect tips and finish quality.
Match tips to tasks: Select orifices and fan widths for the coating and substrate, then label them by use.
Dial pressure: Start low; raise just enough to eliminate tails. Less overspray, better edge definition.
Mind the technique: Keep a steady distance, 50% overlap, and trigger at the ends, not mid-swing.
Filter smart: Inline and gun filters should match tip sizes; replace before they cost you time.
Follow the book: Manufacturer manuals aren’t fluff; build a maintenance checklist from them.
How to Display Spray Equipment Skills on Your Resume
3. Surface Preparation
Surface prep is everything you do before the first coat: cleaning, repairing, profiling, and priming so paint sticks and stays.
Why It's Important
Prep prevents failure. No peeling, no blistering, no patchy adhesion. Just smooth, durable finishes.
How to Improve Surface Preparation Skills
Clean first: Degrease, de-dust, and degloss as needed. Contaminants kill adhesion.
Remove loose material: Scrape, sand, or media-prepare until you hit sound substrate.
Repair right: Patch holes, set fasteners, feather edges, and caulk appropriate gaps.
Profile the surface: Wood, drywall, metal, masonry—each needs its own tooth or profile.
Prime with purpose: Bonding primers for slick surfaces, rust-inhibitors for steel, stain-blockers for tannins.
Control dust and moisture: Vacuum sanding beats dry clouds; verify substrates are dry before coating.
How to Display Surface Preparation Skills on Your Resume
4. Faux Finishing
Faux finishing imitates marble, wood, stone, and aged textures with glazes, tools, and sleight-of-hand technique.
Why It's Important
It widens your menu of services and delivers luxury looks without luxury material costs.
How to Improve Faux Finishing Skills
Build sample boards: Test colors, glaze ratios, and movements before touching client walls.
Learn multiple methods: Sponging, ragging, marbling, graining, color washing—each one has a rhythm.
Use the right tools: Softening brushes, floggers, combs, feathers; cheap tools telegraph.
Layer thin: Transparent glazes, patient layering, and feather-light passes create depth.
Seal smart: Protect with clear coats appropriate to traffic and sheen expectations.
Seek critique: Peer feedback catches heavy hands and pattern repetition.
How to Display Faux Finishing Skills on Your Resume
5. Wallpaper Hanging
Wallpaper hanging blends measurement, cutting, booking, and alignment to leave walls seamless and patterns crisp.
Why It's Important
It signals precision and expands your offerings for clients chasing texture, pattern, and personality.
How to Improve Wallpaper Hanging Skills
Prep the wall: Smooth, clean, prime or size as needed; imperfections telegraph through.
Work plumb: Snap or laser true verticals before the first drop; everything follows that line.
Cut clean: Fresh blades, light pressure, and a straightedge for trims and corners.
Adhesive discipline: Match paste to paper type; book time matters—follow specs.
Match patterns: Account for repeats and waste; dry-fit tricky areas before paste-up.
Chase bubbles out: Smooth from center to edges; roll seams lightly to avoid glue bleed.
Finish edges: Trim after set; don’t rush or you’ll tear fibers.
How to Display Wallpaper Hanging Skills on Your Resume
6. Lead Safety
Lead safety means working lead-smart: contain dust, protect people, and handle waste correctly when old coatings may contain lead.
Why It's Important
Lead exposure damages nervous systems and lives. Safe methods protect crews, clients, and keep you in compliance.
How to Improve Lead Safety Skills
Assume risk in pre-1978 buildings: Test when required and plan for containment.
Get trained and certified: Follow EPA RRP and OSHA requirements where applicable.
Contain like a pro: Poly sheeting, zipper doors, and tack mats; isolate the workspace.
Work wet, not wild: Mist before scraping; use shrouded sanders with HEPA vacuums.
PPE every time: Fit-tested respirators, gloves, eye protection, disposable coveralls.
HEPA cleanup: Three-stage cleaning—HEPA, wet wipe, HEPA again. Verify visually.
Handle waste right: Bag, label, and dispose according to local rules.
Health checks: Periodic blood lead monitoring for frequent exposure roles.
How to Display Lead Safety Skills on Your Resume
7. Scaffolding Setup
Scaffolding setup assembles stable, temporary platforms so painters can work at height with access and confidence.
Why It's Important
Safe access turns tough exteriors and high interiors from risky reaches into straightforward work.
How to Improve Scaffolding Setup Skills
Plan loads and layout: Height, reach, crew count, and material weight drive the design.
Start solid: Mud sills, base plates, and level jacks; plumb as you go.
Guard every edge: Guardrails, midrails, toe boards; no excuses.
Tie-in and brace: Secure to structures per manufacturer and code as height increases.
Safe access: Ladders or stair towers placed inside the system, not improvised.
Inspect daily: Pins, planks, locking devices, and tags; document it.
Watch weather: High winds and slick decks change the plan or pause the job.
How to Display Scaffolding Setup Skills on Your Resume
8. HVLP Sprayers
HVLP sprayers use high air volume and low pressure to lay down fine, controlled films with minimal overspray.
Why It's Important
Cabinetry, doors, trim—any precision finish benefits from HVLP’s control and efficiency.
How to Improve HVLP Sprayers Skills
Get viscosity right: Thin to spec and check with a viscosity cup; consistency is king.
Match needle/nozzle/cap: Pair the set to coating type and target finish quality.
Balance pressures: Air too low, orange peel; too high, bounce-back. Tune while test-spraying.
Keep it clean: Filters, passages, and cups spotless after every run.
Refine your pass: 6–8 inches off the surface, parallel travel, full wet edge.
Practice on panels: Adjust until you can repeat results without thinking.
How to Display HVLP Sprayers Skills on Your Resume
9. Airless Sprayers
Airless sprayers push coatings through small orifices at high pressure, creating fast, even atomization without compressed air.
Why It's Important
They dominate big footage—exteriors, interiors, block, rough surfaces—with speed and uniform film builds.
How to Improve Airless Sprayers Skills
Pick the right tip: Fan width and orifice size matter; e.g., a 515 for many wall paints, larger for elastomerics.
Filter alignment: Gun and manifold filter mesh should match tip size to prevent spitting.
Pressure sweet spot: Lowest pressure that fully atomizes reduces overspray and wear.
Back-roll when needed: On porous or textured surfaces, back-rolling helps drive in and level film.
Strain and cover: Strain coatings and use tip guards and extensions thoughtfully.
Flush correctly: Water for latex, appropriate solvent for oils; store with pump armor if recommended.
How to Display Airless Sprayers Skills on Your Resume
10. Drywall Repair
Drywall repair fixes holes, cracks, popped fasteners, and dents so paint finishes look flawless.
Why It's Important
Paint only looks as good as the surface under it. Smooth gypsum, smooth results.
How to Improve Drywall Repair Skills
Diagnose first: Small dings need spackle; moving cracks need tape and setting compound; large voids need backing and a patch.
Tape right: Paper tape for most seams, fiberglass mesh for specific spots; embed with setting-type mud where movement exists.
Feather wide: Three passes, each wider than the last. Let it dry; don’t rush sanding.
Sand dustless: Vacuum-attached sanding heads keep air clean and surfaces even.
Prime repairs: Seal with PVA or stain-blocking primer so sheen and color match.
Check with raking light: Low-angle light reveals flaws your eyes miss.
How to Display Drywall Repair Skills on Your Resume
11. Epoxy Coatings
Epoxy coatings are two-part, high-build finishes that deliver hard, chemical-resistant protection on concrete and metal.
Why It's Important
They stand up to abrasion, spills, and heavy traffic, and they can look sharp while doing it.
How to Improve Epoxy Coatings Skills
Prep to a profile: Clean, decontaminate, and achieve the right concrete surface profile (CSP). Address cracks and joints first.
Test for moisture: Check slabs for moisture/vapor issues before coating.
Mix precisely: Respect mix ratios, induction times, and pot life. Don’t guess; measure.
Apply methodically: Cut-in, roll with the right nap, and back-roll to release bubbles. Spike-roll floors when specified.
Watch the window: Recoat and broadcast windows are real; set a timer.
Safety matters: Ventilate, wear proper PPE, and plan for slip resistance with aggregates where needed.
How to Display Epoxy Coatings Skills on Your Resume
12. Staining Techniques
Staining techniques enhance grain and tone on wood and other porous surfaces, shifting color while preserving character.
Why It's Important
Clients want beauty with protection. Good staining does both and respects the material.
How to Improve Staining Techniques Skills
Prep the surface: Sand through grits evenly; remove dust with a tack cloth or vacuum.
Condition smart: Use wood conditioner on blotch-prone species like pine and birch.
Test pieces: Off-cuts or hidden areas tell you how a stain truly lands after drying.
Apply consistently: Brush or wipe with the grain; keep a wet edge; avoid lap marks.
Time the wipe: Let stain sit, then remove excess evenly; timing controls depth.
Choose the right type: Gel for verticals, water-based for fast turnaround, oil for open time and richness.
Seal the deal: Finish with an appropriate clear coat—oil or waterborne—based on wear and sheen needs.
How to Display Staining Techniques Skills on Your Resume
