You might think that the painter is the 'lightheaded' among those working on the vehicle. Which people in the other professions are interested in the color of a car, if not in private? It is really 'just' important to get a vehicle running again, isn't it? But of course it should also look good and, for example, not have an ugly bump anywhere. But why do you have to determine the color tone with a special device?

Flashback: My silent admiration results from an incident at a rental company. A car came back with a defect in paint work. But if you are now thinking that he could drive straight to a paint shop, you would be wrong. Shortly afterwards, a mobile paint repair team, also known as a paint doctor, arrived.

Now you could assume that the paintwork will be repaired and then the car will be rented out again. Wrong again. The car has already been promised to the next customer, in just under 1.5 hours. One of us would despair, wouldn't we? But the paint and bulge doctors advertise with 'jet repair'.

So lightheaded guys after all? Far from it. In principle, it is a standardized method, as we have already described in this book. Would you like another example? You may know Richard Rawlings, star of the reality TV show Fast N 'Loud. He has had great success converting vintage cars into hot rods. These are cars that actually deny themselves any useful value.

Recently he has been helping endangered American workshops across the country by unconditionally taking over command there and completely turning them inside out within a week with a lot of money. When he once again had doubts about the successful continuation of a company mainly specializing in body construction and painting, he took a hammer and put a dent in his Ferrari. This should then be repaired in 24 hours so that nothing was left to see.

If I tell you now that the workshop has passed this test, which is actually only conceivable in America, it should also be clear for you why one determines the color of a car in a paint shop. Everything else about this in the corresponding chapters of this book. But the fact remains that here the computer and the measurement of the new color with components down to a tenth of a gram are important.

Even if trainees in this branch of trade are usually not allowed to paint the last lacquer coat in the first two years, one thing has changed a lot, health protection. Everywhere, not just in the paint booth, is now vacuumed. This also applies to the sanding dust, which is probably no less dangerous than paint mist. Paints are very often already water-soluble, but protective measures are now also in place when cleaning spray guns that have worked with thinner.

It is important that the job requires a slightly better school leaving certificate, perhaps also because of its greater range. In the small craft business, this also includes sheet metal work, because a painter would not be busy all the time. On the other hand, vehicle manufacturers also train. Here the spectrum even includes the control and cleaning of spray robots. You would then also be active on an industrial scale, including higher pay.

Of course, it's always about being able to take a critical look at the result of the paintwork, which is of course eminently important for new vehicles. Then even the underside of a hood counts. Conversely, after completing their training, vehicle painters can find work in a large number of positions, not just with transport companies. Just consider which goods are painted or powder-coated.

And then the classic cars (picture above). Did you know that the professional painting of a classic car can be one of the biggest expenses in restoration, it can be more expensive than an engine revision. This is where the future category of the vehicle is likely to be decided, which of course has a direct impact on the possible (selling) purchase price. It can be seen at laypeople, they still have the confidence to weld and assemble, electrics perhaps, but if you are wise, you better should give revision and painting into the hands of specialists.

Do we have everything now? The quick work of the blending method, possibly removing dents and filling, most of all the sanding and the shine of various layers of varnish. No, the foliation is still missing. Take a look around, every little master carpenter drives around with a complete hall staircase on his van these days. But buyers of expensive cars also want the color change from time to time, sometimes even for leasing vehicles, which would have been impossible in the past.

Foiling (picture above) needs to be learned, and will probably develop into a job that requires training at some point. Currently, courses are mainly offered, for which painters would of course be the first choice. Laypeople often dare to do this, but often have to give up with a pile of defaced plastic sheets. Whereby the exterior surfaces are not so important. There you always expected very clean work. But what happens if you open the doors or hoods?