Many a rusted car, or one that has been badly damaged, has been resurrected by a skilled panel beater.

More than 1,000 panel beaters work in Western Australia, 73% of whom are located in the Perth metropolitan area. Nearly 7% work in the South West and the remainder are scattered throughout the State's other regions.

In addition, there are an estimated 90 panel beater supervisors working in Western Australia.

Entry into this occupation is through an apprenticeship in Automotive Vehicle Body. Nearly 90 people commenced the Apprenticeship in 2005. A traineeship is also available in panel preparation.

A Driver's Best Friend

If your vehicle has been involved in an accident, or you want to spruce up your car body before selling, it's a panel beater that you need. They are able to repair or replace parts of cars such as metal bonnets and fibreglass fenders. And most will tell you that their work is varied and not short of the odd challenge.


Handy With The Odd Tool

Panel beaters need to be skilled at using machines and hand tools. They may use oxy-acetylene (cutting) equipment to remove damaged panels or body parts, specialised equipment including a 'planishing' hammer to remove dents, and electric welding equipment to refit a repaired or replaced panel back onto a vehicle frame.

Keith Heywood, a local panel beater, says many of his customers are irate when they first drop off their damaged vehicle, which has been their pride and joy.

''But when the job's done and they come to pick up their vehicle, they're very relieved to have it looking as good as new and back on the road.''

The Process

A panel beater's first task is to prepare an estimate of a repair. Then the hands-on work begins. Damaged panels may have to be removed from a car, by unbolting or cutting the panel away. Dents are then hammered out. If a panel is beyond repair, a new or second hand replacement panel is used. Badly damaged vehicles may need to be pulled back into shape with an auto robot, before a panel beater begins work.

Any gaps between the repaired panels need to be filled with plastic filler, which is then filed, ground and sanded back to create a smooth surface. Any body parts that were removed, such as door locks and door trims, have to be refitted. The finishing touch may involve a vehicle being sprayed with a filler coat by the panel beater. In larger workshops, a spray painter is often employed to do this task. Because of the tasks they undertake and the type of equipment they use, panel beaters must wear protective clothing and use protective equipment such as safety glasses at all times.


The Passion

A 1966 Alfa Romeo GTV is one of Keith Heywood's prized panel beating jobs.

''The owner ended up entering the car in a rally but beforehand got me to work on it because it had been in several accidents and was badly damaged. The whole car took me about three months to fix, which involved working on different sections of the car at a time.''

As well as being passionate about cars, panel beaters need to be able to read and understand measurements and specifications, have a good understanding of metals, auto body parts and mechanics, and know about the latest in panel beating methods and technology.

All of a panel beater's work is overseen by a supervisor (also known as a foreman). In a smaller panel beating workshop, the foreman may also undertake panel beating him/herself. They also check panel beaters' quotes, do final quality inspections on vehicles and deal with the customers, so good communication skills are essential.

Most panel beaters and supervisors work in panel beating workshops, crash repairers, service stations, new and used car dealers and motor vehicle manufacturers. Their work environment tends to be noisy and dusty.

The award salary for panel beaters is about $32,000 (plus a tool allowance) but this may go considerably higher ($60,000 or more), especially given the shortage of qualified panel beaters in Western Australia.







Not everyone, especially younger people, can afford to purchase brand new vehicles. Older vehicles tend to require panel beating, thereby increasing the demand for services. Although this work tends to be seasonal, the good news is there is currently a shortage of qualified panel beaters in Western Australia.

To become a panel beater, you can start a traineeship in Paint/Panel Preparation. However, to gain trade level skills, you need to complete an apprenticeship in Automotive Vehicle Body. The Certificate I in Automotive - Pre Apprentice (Vehicle Body Building -Panel Beating) may be instrumental in helping people gain an apprenticeship. This is offered through Swan TAFE (Carlisle Campus). You will need to have completed Year 10 with an average level of 3.5 in four Learning Areas, or equivalent.

The training associated with the traineeship and apprenticeship is undertaken on the job and through Swan TAFE (Carlisle Campus) and the Motor Industry Training Association (MITA) Training Centre of Western Australia. Please check out the TAFE and NTIS sites below for further information. For details about the traineeship and apprenticeship, please contact the Australian Apprenticeships Hotline on 13 38 73 (local call cost).

Vocational training in panel beating can also be commenced in school, while you complete your secondary education. For more information on how you can do this, contact your school's career adviser or vocational education coordinator.

	Other Training Providers
	National Training Information Service website.
	TAFE Colleges
	Homepage links and contact details for all TAFE Colleges in WA.
	TAFE Handbook
	An online guide to full-time TAFE courses available throughout WA.

Motor Trades Association of WA
PO Box 727 Balcatta WA 6021 Ph: (08) 9345 3466

Automotive Training Australia (WA) Ltd
PO Box 1820 Osborne Park WA 6017 Ph: (08) 9244 8111 URL: http://www.motor.net.au/ATA

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If you took two vehicles and dented them in exactly the same spot you'd think that they could be fixed in about the same timeframe, using the same repair techniques. Right? Wrong!

''No two accidents are the same. Even though two vehicles might get hit in the same spot, they still get hit from different angles so they need to be treated differently,'' says Ray, a foreman at a local smash repair business.

It's this variety and the challenges that arise from it, that have kept Ray interested in his job for 40 years.

Ray was not yet 15 years old and still in high school when he turned his hand to smash repairs. With little interest in schoolwork, and a keen desire to join the workforce, Ray figured why not give smash repairs a go.

''I hadn't had a great deal of experience with cars but I enjoyed working with my hands, so I was confident that I could do the job.''

He started out stripping panels and doing general repairs, and as time went by Ray says he developed a real affinity for the job.

''There's a real sense of achievement in this work because you're actually rebuilding something.''

Ray says the most complicated job and the one that poses the biggest challenge to panel beaters is repairing a damaged chassis. If the car is hit from the side then the whole frame is affected and can cause the vehicle to shrink on the impact side.

Other jobs - such as a dented fender and damaged headlight, or buckled bonnet - may take a few hours or up to half a day to repair. Irrespective of the size of a job though, there is a common reward in all of his work. Being able to mentally 'peel' away the layers of damage - knowing instinctively how to remedy the damage in the most effective way - is the reward for Ray.

''Impact damage can be like a third-degree burn. The effects of the (vehicle) damage are often much deeper than what you might think initially, so it's most rewarding for me when I can spot the problem almost immediately.''

For one who feels so passionate about his work, it's not surprising that he has a few personal projects on the go. He recently converted a 2-door, hard top, short wheelbase Range Rover into a short wheelbase utility, and he's planning to modify a dual-cab truck so that it has all the luxury of a caravan fitout.

Luckily for Ray, his career choice has enabled him to develop and find expression for his creativity both on the job and in his own leisure time.