94213 Industrial painters, coaters and metal finishing process operators

What this occupation covers

Industrial painters and coaters operate and tend machines or use brushes and spray equipment to apply paint, enamel, lacquer or other non-metallic protective and decorative coatings to surfaces of various products. Metal finishing process operators operate machines or equipment to deposit metallized substances on workpieces and surfaces to provide decorative, protective and restorative coatings. These workers are employed by manufacturing companies and custom refinishing, coating and plating shops.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 16 main duties for this code.

• Select appropriate paint or mix paints using automated paint mixing equipment according to a predetermined formula
• Operate or tend equipment to clean, wash, strip, sand, remove corrosion, fill dents or otherwise prepare items for application of paint, lacquer or other protective or decorative coatings
• Operate or tend automated spray paint, dip or flow coating equipment or other mechanized painting or product coating application equipment
• Operate hand-held spray guns to spray paint or coat stationary items or items on moving conveyor system with protective or decorative coatings
• Paint small items and apply touch-ups using paint brushes
• Clean and maintain painting and coating, ventilation, compressed air and personal protective equipment
• May prepare and apply stencils, computer-generated decals or other decorative items on finished products.
• Prepare and mix metallizing solutions according to formulas or specifications
• Operate or tend equipment to clean, degrease, pickle and etch metal and non-metal surfaces to prepare workpieces with desired surface characteristics
• Tend automatic metal coating machines which convey objects through a series of cleaning, rinsing and plating solutions
• Operate and control electroplating equipment to coat metal and other workpieces
• Operate hot-dip metal plating equipment to galvanize metal and other workpieces
• Operate spray equipment to build up worn or damaged parts or to bond protective or decorative coatings on various objects
• Check proper thickness of plating using micrometers, calipers or other devices
• May operate equipment to polish metallic surfaces of products
• May tend ovens which cure metal coating.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 3 of its 16 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 72411 Auto body collision, refinishing and glass technicians and damage repair estimators
• 94210 Furniture and fixture assemblers, finishers, refinishers and inspectors
• 94106 Machining tool operators
• 73112 Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)
• 92020 Supervisors, motor vehicle assembling
• 92023 Supervisors, other mechanical and metal products manufacturing
• 92013 Supervisors, plastic and rubber products manufacturing

Excluded from this code

• Auto body collision, refinishing and glass technicians and damage repair estimators (See 72411 Auto body collision, refinishing and glass technicians and damage repair estimators)
• Furniture and fixture assemblers, finishers, refinishers and inspectors (See 94210 Furniture and fixture assemblers, finishers, refinishers and inspectors)
• Machining tool operators (See 94106 Machining tool operators)
• Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) (See 73112 Painters and decorators (except interior decorators))
• Supervisors, motor vehicle assembling (See 92020 Supervisors, motor vehicle assembling)
• Supervisors, other mechanical and metal products manufacturing (See 92023 Supervisors, other mechanical and metal products manufacturing)
• Supervisors, plastic and rubber products manufacturing (See 92013 Supervisors, plastic and rubber products manufacturing)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

airbrush painter · aircraft painter · anodizer · assembly line painter · assembly painter · automatic paint-sprayer operator · automobile assembly line painter · automobile assembly painter · automobile dipper-painter · automobile painter - motor vehicle manufacturing · aviation painter · bathtub refinisher · bathtub varnisher · bench lacquer sprayer · bench spray painter · block sander and glazier · boiler painter · bronze plater · brush stainer - production · cadmium galvanizer · car painter - manufacturing · ceramic and enamel refinisher · ceramic enameler · ceramic painter

Employment requirements

• Secondary school education is usually required.
• Some experience in operating production machinery or equipment may be required.
• Several months of on-the-job training are usually provided.
• Some industrial painters, such as aviation painters, may require specialized training and certification or college courses.