Top 15 Painter Interview Questions and Answers (2024)

Here are Painter interview questions and answers for freshers as well as experienced candidates to get their dream painting job.


1) What are things needed for a basic paint project?

For basic paint project you need

  • Two inch blue painter’s tape
  • Drop cloth
  • Sandpaper
  • Tri-sodium phosphate
  • One and half or two inch sash brush
  • Two or three inch flat sash brush
  • Disposable liners and paint brush
  • Nine inch roller, Screw on extension pole and roller cover

Free PDF Download: Painter Interview Questions and Answers


2) What all ways you can do house painting?

  • Brush painting
  • Spray painting
  • Using Roller
  • Using painting pads

3) What is the use of trisodium phosphate?

Tri-sodium phosphate is like any other soap or detergent; it is used as a cleansing agent, but benefit of using tri-sodium phosphate is that it does not leave any residue behind.


4) Mention some tips to paint your room perfectly?

To paint your room perfectly you require

  • Roll the full height of the wall and keep a wet edge, this would help you to avoid lap marks
  • In a large bucket mix several cans of paint to get a consistent color throughout the room
  • To get a perfect edge, first let the paint dry and later you can cut the tape loose
  • Paint in this order: Trim first, Ceiling  and Wall
  • To avoid a blotchy finish prime and texture wall patches
  • Clean dirty surfaces so that the paint can form a strong bond
  • For consistent textures roll paint along the edges
  • Feather out paint whenever you cannot keep a wet edge
  • Sand trim between coats to have an ultra-smooth finish
  • Use cotton drop cloth to protect the floor

5) Before you start painting your room what you should take care of?

  • Safety first: Use a sturdy ladder with a shelf for your paint and tools, Cover your eyes with goggles and use overcoat to keep paint away from your body
  • Color selection: Use color chart to get a choice for the color, use online website to check color combination
  • Sampling: Use white poster board paint it with different shades and allow it to dry. Once it is done put it in different rooms to see the alteration in color shade.
  • Right Sheen: You can use a high gloss paint for a stylized room
  • Wash: Before you start painting wall make sure you have cleaned it properly without any dirt or patches left on it
  • Primer: To get a polish look primer is a must, but make sure that you use an oil based primer instead of water based, it would help you to cover water stains
  • Plan your Paint: It is worse when you finish paint in the middle of painting, and that too if it is a combination of different colors. Measure and calculate properly every corner of the room and then prepare it in bulk
  • Use tape: Use a tape to cover your trim area, and then start for wall painting
Painter Interview Questions
Painter Interview Questions

6) Explain how you can prevent color slipping into trim area that is covered with tape?

Sometimes covering the trim area only with tape would not be enough to stop the color dripping into it, you need some sealant that keeps no space in the tape. You can use caulk as a sealant to do this, wipe the caulk beads with fingers, and it eventually seals the tape and would not allow any color to go across it.


7) What is the shortcut to paint without taping?

Many found taping a tedious job; you can still do your painting without using tape.  First paint the ceiling and trim without using tape, and then use an edger to make a clean paint perimeter over the trim and below the ceiling, finish it by painting the walls.


8) Explain how many coats of paint considered as a quality paint?

Color coats depend on what type and make of color you using for painting, some darker colors, and patterns needs up to three coats of color to cover. To figure it out how much coat do you require, always wait for the paint to dry between coats.  Although one coat is enough if colour contrast is not an issue.


9) How you would paint if you are using a brush and not roller for painting?

If you are using a brush instead of roller then

  • Use a primer for the first coat
  • Take a half fill color bucket, dip 50mm brush up to one-third of the bristle length
  • Then hold the brush at 90 degrees to the ceiling and paint a straight line, cutting between the walls and the ceiling
  • Turn the brush parallel to the ceiling and drag the brush parallel to the ceiling without touching the ceiling edge
  • Same procedure can be repeated along the bottom
  • To paint the large and middle part of the wall you can use a broad brush.

10) Why paint extender is used for painting?

Paint extender like Floetrol does two things

  • It reduces the paint drying time, giving you a longer window period to overlap just painted areas without having lap marks left on the walls.
  • Secondly, the extender helps paint to levels out and spread out the paint, eliminating the brush strokes.

Paint extender is usually used when you have to color woodwork, cabinets, and drywall and so on.


11) Explain how you can paint using a paint pad?

  • To paint walls and ceiling you can use 200 mm pads, and for cutting around the edges you can use 30mm-50mm pads
  • To load the color on the pad use a special tray which is designed for color pad
  • The pad must be kept flat on the wall or ceiling and moved gently on either side
Painting Job Interview Questions
Painting Job Interview Questions

12) List out some of the extra accessories you can use for perfect painting?

  • Can Claw: It helps to hold on the can without interfering you painting job
  • Edge Painter: It is used to paint the edges surrounding windows and ceiling walls without touching it
  • Door hinge Mask: It would protect your door hinges from coloring
  • Elite window brush: This pointed brush are specially designed to paint windows
  • Twist and Reach pole:  This tool comes with an extender and you do not need ladder or step stool if you are using this tool
  • Mini koter long handle roller: This tool is compact and it can pass through the narrow spaces, for example, it can color the space behind the heater, cabinets and freestanding tubs
  • Foam corner roller: This tool is very useful to paint the corner of the walls
  • Glass Mask: Glass mask could be very handy to cover the glass while painting where

The other tools that can be useful are carbide paint scrapers, pipe painter and tools extension brush holder.


13) What is the use of turpentine?

Unlike normal color, you cannot clean up oil paints with water.  You have to use mineral spirits or turpentine to take paint out of the brushes.


14) Explain what is the easiest way to remove wallpaper?

  • Use hot water and vinegar, hot water would help to loosen the wallpaper glue, and the vinegar would help dissolve it
  • Remove it by using fabric softener and warm water
  • Using ammonia and hot water ( 1 quarter of ammonia + 2 quarter of ammonia)
  • Use warm water+ liquid detergent+ cellulose paste.  Apply it on the wallpaper and leave it for 5 minutes and then start pulling off the wallpaper
  • Use steam wallpaper stripper

15) While using a paint sprayer what is an ideal distance between the wall and sprayer?

Ideal distance between the wall and sprayer is 12 to 24 inches. Bonus Questions!


16) What are the safety equipment’s you have to wear while doing spray painting?

  • Goggles
  • Respirator ( HEPA)
  • Spray sock
  • Gloves
  • Full body coveralls

These interview questions will also help in your viva(orals)

Share

10 Comments

  1. this is was a good web sites

  2. If I am painting plastic hair clippers (tend to heat up a little bit) and plan to brush paint over the base paint and apply a clear coat after, what paint do I use? I messed up and used krylon all purpose spray paint, then with acrylic paint painted on something it was cool. Then I added the krylon clear coat spray paint and it started wrinkling! 😵

  3. Avatar Amandi Samuel .c says:

    Nice one. I like to be a paint producer, can this site teach me how to produce different kinds of paints

    1. Avatar Iniesta Ashu says:

      I love painting

  4. I am painting a standing seam metal roof 60+ years old . Scraped, pressure washed, scraped and brushed off again,then primed whole w/ rusty metal primer (oil based). ? is will latex perform as well as oil based for finish coat

    1. Yes, the latex will hold up much better and much longer. The oil will fade quick and only protect for a year plus it’s not flexible therefore metal will expand and contract with temp changes.
      I recommend a DTM paint primer and finish in one. Direct to metal is DTM…it’s very elastic.Apply two coats one as primer and the second as a finish coat.
      Spray application would be best, but it can be brushed and rolled but stay away from days with extreme heat on application it dries very quickly and no moisture present for couple days to cure completely.

  5. Avatar LEE-ANNE Hutcheson says:

    My house is 22 years old with cathedral stucco ceiling. Where the beams in the attic are I can see dark lines in the paint. What would cause this. If I hired a painter.. Approximately what would it cost to paint.. Kitchen and living room

  6. Avatar Philomena McKenzie says:

    Thanks for the questions and answers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *