Loading page content
Clean and patch the surfaces of products such as furniture, glass, and pottery per the work order, mix and apply paint, ink, or lacquer, dry and cure as required, inspect the appearance, and touch up defects.
Insufficient evidence: a nationwide same-scope wage distribution for product painters and decorators in China was not obtained, and the above-scale manufacturing production broad-position average is not this occupation's wage. This job applies protective or decorative coatings to products such as furniture, glass, pottery, and toys, with the emphasis on surface preparation, mixing and application, drying, and defect touch-up.
Suited to people who can control cleaning, color, coating, and appearance across different materials and patiently inspect for flaws.
O*NET 51-9123.00: paints, coats, or decorates products such as furniture, glass, dishes, pottery, jewelry, toys, books, or leather, and is not building wall work.
This occupation coats and decorates products such as furniture, glass, and pottery; construction painters work on structural surfaces such as walls and bridges.
Product painters focus on the appearance of individual items or small batches; continuous coating machine operators focus more on equipment parameters and line operation.
Editorial candidate (on-site effect or adoption rate not verified): image tools can help mark color differences, missed coating, and surface flaws, but the product still needs review under real lighting.
Editorial candidate (on-site effect or adoption rate not verified): color-matching software can help match colors, but it must be verified with samples and batch materials.
Insufficient evidence: Chinese mainland has not obtained a nationwide occupational wage distribution corresponding one-to-one with O*NET 51-9123.00.
Chinese industry average wages are not the median for the product painter and decorator occupation.
U.S. 2025 wages cannot be converted into Chinese personal income or starting pay.
The 2025 median hourly wage for U.S. O*NET 51-9123.00 is 20.00 U.S. dollars and the annual wage is 41,600 U.S. dollars.
Historical: U.S. 2024 employment in this occupation was about 8,800 people, not current openings; current BLS precise 51-9123 employment is about 8,200 in 2025 and about 8,300 in 2035, and the different bases cannot be computed together.
Real chemicals, spraying, and drying equipment must follow employer training authorization and current material instructions; the controls are editorial suggestions.
Verify solvent contact, mist, heat sources, mix labels, coating defects, and repetitive fine motions separately.
O*NET supports only task and work-context background; the consequences, controls, and escalation below are editorial suggestions and do not indicate risk probability or a uniform legal requirement.
First practice cleaning, patching, color matching, and coating with safe teaching samples; real coatings and drying equipment are operated per employer procedures.
At hiring, verify the product material, coatings, spray guns, drying equipment, ventilation, shifts, and quality requirements.
Historical: U.S. 51-9123 was projected to grow 1%—2% over 2024—2034. The current BLS precise 51-9123 shows 2025—2035 overall growth of 1.3% and an official net increase of about 100 people; about 8,200 in 2025 to about 8,300 in 2035, with the table rounded to thousands, so the growth rate cannot be back-calculated.
Historical 2024—2034 annual average of about 800 openings including turnover. The current 2025—2035 annual average of about 700 openings includes growth and replacements and is not the net increase of about 100 people or real-time hiring volume.
Mainly applies protective or decorative coatings to products such as furniture, glass, pottery, toys, and leather.
This occupation works on product surfaces; construction painters work on walls, buildings, and other structural surfaces.
This occupation emphasizes application and decoration on individual products; equipment operators emphasize continuous equipment parameters and line operation.
No; image prompts, color matching, and formula suggestions still require samples, real lighting, and human review.
Choose carefully if you cannot follow the safety procedures for coatings, solvents, spraying, and drying equipment, or if you mistake product coating for building painting.
Safe teaching samples can be used to practice cleaning, masking, brushing, and appearance inspection; real chemicals, spraying, and drying equipment must be operated per employer training and authorization.
Work is mostly in a manufacturing or workshop setting, and the materials, tools, ventilation, drying, and appearance standards vary by product.
The main loop is identifying the product and coating requirements, surface treatment, application, drying, inspection, and rework.
Verifiable outputs include coating coverage, color and decoration consistency, drying state, defect records, and handoff.
Historical: U.S. O*NET 2024 employment in this precise occupation was about 8,800 people, not real-time hiring. Current BLS precise 51-9123 employment is about 8,200 in 2025 and about 8,300 in 2035, and the values are rounded from the thousands table; do not compute across periods.
This occupation's object differs from that of construction painters, and its main tasks also differ from those of continuous coating machine operators.
Chemicals, spray mist, drying heat sources, and repetitive hand motions should be managed per the employer's material instructions and on-site safety procedures.
Furniture surface finishers mainly work with wood furniture; this occupation also covers products such as glass, pottery, and leather.
This occupation's objects are products such as furniture, glass, and pottery, producing protective or decorative coatings; construction painting handles structural surfaces, and machine operators focus on continuous equipment.
Suited to people who are willing to handle individual materials and color details, apply per the sample, and inspect for flaws while following coating and equipment safety procedures.
Editorial candidate (on-site effect or adoption rate not verified): systems can organize coating formulas and drying times, but the current product data and equipment status must be verified.
Editorial candidate (on-site effect or adoption rate not verified): tools can be used to organize application and rework records; whether they reduce duplicate entry needs on-site verification, and the original samples and records must agree.
Coating suitability, spray protection, drying equipment, and the final quality decision need to be the responsibility of trained personnel.
Assistance with a single task does not equal job replacement; O*NET does not provide a given plant's AI adoption rate.
Watch for lighting and camera color cast, outdated formulas, mislabeled mixes, and misuse of curing parameters.
First let tools assist with data and defect marking, then use them after sample, process, and safety review.
When comparing Chinese positions, verify the product material, coating, spraying and drying tasks, region, shifts, and employer offer.
The median is not starting pay or a personal income promise, and cannot be extrapolated to China.
The U.S. precise 51-9123 BLS OEWS 2025 wages were obtained: 10th/25th/50th/75th/90th percentile annual wages of 31,470/37,030/41,600/50,360/60,820 U.S. dollars, corresponding to hourly wages of 15.13/17.80/20.00/24.21/29.24 U.S. dollars. Percentiles are not seniority levels, starting pay, or a personal income guarantee, and are not converted into Chinese wages.
The actual offer must be verified against the region, manufacturing setting, product material, shifts, and coating process.
Wages are 2025; the older 2024 employment of 8,800 and the 2024—2034 growth of 1%—2% with an annual average of 800 openings are historical only. The current BLS precise 51-9123 shows 2025—2035 overall growth of 1.3% and an official net increase of about 100 people, with an annual average of about 700 openings including replacements; overall projections are not AI adoption, replacement, individual unemployment, or Chinese demand.
Explore interest in hands-on application, color, and sample inspection; does not prove equipment qualifications.
Editorial exploration suggestion; the predictive or comparative validity of this assessment for this occupation has not been verified.
People handling the materials and others on site.
May increase inhalation or skin contact exposure.
Work samples keep the work order, product material, coating formula, sample photos, and defect and rework records.
In an interview you can describe how to distinguish color difference, missed coating, sagging, and under-curing, and explain the safety escalation boundaries.
The seven-day practice uses teaching materials to complete surface cleaning, sample coating, drying observation, and quality evaluation.
Courses or certifications do not automatically grant authority for spraying, chemicals, drying equipment, or quality release.
Progressively extend from surface preparation and mixing and application to appearance inspection, with capability verified by samples and rework records.
Moving to construction painting, furniture finishing, or continuous coating machines requires adding the target objects, equipment, and safety training.
| Field 1 | Field 2 | Field 3 | Field 4 | Field 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career exploration. | Understand product and coating types. | Use only safe teaching materials. | Sample and work order understanding. | Learn cleaning and patching. |
| Coaching preparation. | Clean, fill, and test color. | Real coatings require supervision. | Sample color and material records. | Learn application. |
| Entry-level coating. | Brushing or trained spraying. | Per equipment and chemical authorization. | Coating and defect photos. | Learn drying and curing. |
| Quality coordination. | Inspect appearance and touch up flaws. | Release is decided by authorized personnel. | Rework and inspection records. | Learn process improvement. |
| Skilled development. | Coordinate materials, samples, and steps. | Does not replace equipment maintenance authority. | Stabilize quality and handoff. | Crew coordination. |
| Field 1 | Field 2 | Field 3 | Field 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color difference. | Verify the batch and the sample. | Review under standard lighting. | Sample and formula records. |
| Missed coating. | Isolate and touch up. | Confirm coverage and dryness. | Defect photos and rework. |
| Drying anomaly. | Pause the equipment and escalate. | Verify the temperature and authorization. | Alarms and batch times. |
| Abnormal solvent odor. | Stop work and report. | Confirm ventilation and materials. | On-site records. |
| Field 1 | Field 2 | Field 3 | Field 4 | Field 5 | Field 6 | Field 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational training. | Material and coating learning. | Employer training arrangement. | Teaching environment. | Real work pending verification. | Coach. | Keep samples. |
| Routine coating. | Cleaning and brushing samples. | Project lead. | Per the material instructions. | Spraying skills to be added. | Crew lead. | Operate under supervision. |
| Spray equipment. | Equipment and protection training. | Authorized personnel. | Ventilation compliance. | Do not spray without authorization. | Safety lead. | Verify training. |
| Drying equipment. | Temperature and time records. | Equipment-authorized personnel. | Control per the process. | Maintenance authority verified separately. | Equipment lead. | Run per procedures. |
| Quality hold. | Defect and batch evidence. | Quality lead. | Do not release on your own. | Rework decision pending verification. | Quality department. | Await the decision. |
| Delivery records. | Sample and coating records. | Designated handoff personnel. | Meets the work order standard. | Anomaly items pending closure. | Crew lead. | Record the results. |
Historical 2024 precise occupational employment 8,800 people. Current BLS precise 51-9123 employment in 2025 is about 8,200 people, and it cannot be computed across periods or used as a Chinese or AI individual job-loss projection.
Digital color matching and visual inspection can change some tasks, but material suitability, on-site safety, and quality inspection still require people.
Adjacent directions require adding the professional skills for building structures, furniture woodwork, or continuous coating equipment separately.
Watch for coating solvents, spray mist, drying heat sources, and mixing and labeling errors.
Insufficient evidence: a nationwide same-scope wage distribution for 51-9123 product painters and decorators in China was not obtained. NBS2025 The pre-tax broad-position average for production, manufacturing, and related personnel at above-scale manufacturing is 79,182 yuan per year, which includes many production positions and is not this occupation's median, starting pay, or take-home. Only actual above-scale manufacturing legal-person employers may refer to it, and it does not apply to individual workshops, self-employed profit, or freelance work; the specific material, shifts, region, and contract still need separate verification.
The 2025 U.S. median for this occupation is 20.00 per hour and 41,600 U.S. dollars per year; the quintiles were obtained but are not seniority or starting pay. BLS precise 51-9123 is about 8,200 in 2025 and about 8,300 in 2035; over 2025—2035 overall growth is 1.3%, an official net increase of about 100, and an annual average of about 700 openings including replacements. The thousands table is rounded, so the rate cannot be back-calculated; not AI replacement or individual layoffs. The older 2024 employment of 8,800 and the 2024—2034 materials are kept as history.
First practice cleaning, patching, color mixing, and inspection with teaching samples; real coatings, spraying, and drying equipment are used per employer authorization.
Chinese and U.S. data are in separate columns and cannot be rewritten into each other.; AI inference is not evidence of real adoption.; Paper exercises do not constitute real practice or safety authorization.
Does not provide this occupation's adoption rate, job-loss probability, or replacement date.
International Labour Organization
GLOBAL
ILO Working Paper 140, 2025; accessed 2026-08-31
institutional task research
market_signal
Does not provide this occupation's adoption rate, job-loss probability, or replacement date.
2026-08-31
No nationwide wage distribution corresponding one-to-one with this O*NET precise occupation has been established.
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People's Republic of China.
CN
2024 enterprise wage survey information published 2025; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Broader occupation reference
No nationwide wage distribution corresponding one-to-one with this O*NET precise occupation has been established.
2026-08-31
The work context is a survey result; when there is no precise mapping it serves only as a parent occupation proxy.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
O*NET 31.0 profile; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
The work context is a survey result; when there is no precise mapping it serves only as a parent occupation proxy.
2026-08-31
Custom reports are still U.S. occupational surveys; when there is no precise mapping they serve only as a parent occupation proxy.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
O*NET 31.0 profile; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
Custom reports are still U.S. occupational surveys; when there is no precise mapping they serve only as a parent occupation proxy.
2026-08-31
U.S. occupational materials do not establish Chinese wages or authorization; when there is no precise mapping they serve only as a parent occupation proxy.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
O*NET 31.0 profile; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
U.S. occupational materials do not establish Chinese wages or authorization; when there is no precise mapping they serve only as a parent occupation proxy.
2026-08-31
The educational distribution is not a legal qualification; when there is no precise mapping it serves only as a parent occupation proxy.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
O*NET 31.0 profile; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
The educational distribution is not a legal qualification; when there is no precise mapping it serves only as a parent occupation proxy.
2026-08-31
Adjacent occupation links do not mean equivalent authorization; when there is no precise mapping they serve only as a parent occupation proxy.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
O*NET 31.0 profile; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
Adjacent occupation links do not mean equivalent authorization; when there is no precise mapping they serve only as a parent occupation proxy.
2026-08-31
The task list is not a complete position description for every employer; when there is no precise mapping it serves only as a parent occupation proxy.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
O*NET 31.0 profile; accessed 2026-08-31
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
The task list is not a complete position description for every employer; when there is no precise mapping it serves only as a parent occupation proxy.
2026-08-31
Five annual wages of 31470/37030/41600/50360/60820 U.S. dollars; five hourly wages of 15.13/17.80/20.00/24.21/29.24 U.S. dollars.
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor
US
2025 BLS OEWS national precise 51-9123 wages.
official occupation and labor-market source
Occupation-specific
Wage percentiles are not seniority or starting pay, not self-employed income or Chinese wages.
2026-10-02
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
current page; accessed 2026-09-01
official custom occupation profile
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
2025 BLS OEWS wage data displayed by O*NET OnLine
official occupation details
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
current page; accessed 2026-09-01
official technology profile
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
current page; accessed 2026-09-01
official industry distribution
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
current page; accessed 2026-09-01
official certification discovery
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
current page; accessed 2026-09-01
official local training discovery
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Five annual wages of 31470/37030/41600/50360/60820 U.S. dollars; five hourly wages of 15.13/17.80/20.00/24.21/29.24 U.S. dollars.
O*NET / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
US
2025 BLS OEWS national precise 51-9123 wages.
O*NET display of BLS OEWS wage data
Occupation-specific
Wage percentiles are not seniority or starting pay, not self-employed income or Chinese wages.
2026-10-02
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
O*NET OnLine
US
2025 BLS OEWS wage data displayed by O*NET OnLine
official occupation summary
Occupation-specific
Use only for the stated O*NET occupation, US market and page subject. It does not establish a China mapping, China pay, or legal authorization.
2026-09-01
Production, manufacturing, and related personnel in manufacturing 79,182 yuan per year pre-tax annual average, above-scale manufacturing legal persons; not all manufacturing employers or individual workshops.
National Bureau of Statistics.
CN
2025; Table 7 manufacturing production broad position and the pre-tax notes.
official industry wage statistics
Industry reference
The broad position includes many production positions and is not this occupation's median, percentiles, starting pay, personal take-home, or self-employed profit.
2026-10-02
About 8200 in 2025 to about 8300 in 2035, 1.3%, an official net increase of about 100 people, and an annual average of about 700 openings including replacements; the official thousands table is rounded.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
US
2025—2035
official employment projections
Occupation-specific
The precise occupation is not the parent 51-9120 or equipment 51-9124; the overall figure is not AI adoption, replacement, individual layoffs, or Chinese demand.
2026-10-02
AI material and image color-matching records are candidates only; the sample, posting, coaching, and seven-day items are career exploration, not adoption-effect research or legal authorization.
FermatMind editorial
GLOBAL
This round's author review 2026-10-02.
task-based editorial reasoning
internal_rubric
Does not prove on-site effect, AI adoption or replacement rates, individual layoffs, certificates, or equipment safety authorization.
2026-10-02