Use restoration techniques to prepare the surface of vehicle parts for finishing spray painting and detailing work. Learn in a professional shop environment. The class focuses on academic, technical skills, and employability practices. Students will develop personal and professional skills in the classroom that will transfer to the workplace:

• OSHA Regulations for safety precautions
• Estimate labor costs for operations
• Select and price parts for estimating
• Use personal safety equipment
• Prepare the surface to be refinished
• Set up and operate pressure spray equipment
• Prepare and apply basecoat, finish, and topcoat
• Recognize paint defects and correct the finish
• Detail a vehicle

Class Benefits

• 30 high school credits earned per year
• Develop skills leading to a highly paid, high demand job

Earned Outside the Class

• I-CAR inter Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair

Certifications Earned Within the Class

• Class completion certificate

Job Opportunities Upon Completion

• Entry-level Prep Technician

About the Instructor

Nathan Chukes, a graduate of Silicon Valley Career Technical Education, has returned to share his knowledge and skills with the students, the art of preparing a car for paint. He is ASE Certified in auto refinishing. Chukes started his career as an apprentice painter working for local dealerships in the Bay Area. He prepared cars for paint and detailing customer cars for the first five years in the industry. After completing his apprenticeship, Chukes advanced to become a journeyman painter taking on all the responsibilities of a painter, including full preparation, color matching, masking, and blending of two-stage and three-stage paint finishes. He has more than 30 years of industry experience as a technician and teacher combined.

Why do you teach Career and Technical Education?

I have worked in the collision repair industry for over 30 years total. Prior to becoming a teacher, I started my career at Gavilan College in Gilroy, Calif. to study Collision Repair. After completing that program, I went on to work as an apprentice painter working at Cal West Collision in Sunnyvale, Cerritos Chevrolet in Los Gatos, and Central Chevrolet in Fremont. I later became a Journeyman Painter working at several independent body shops located in the Bay Area.

After working for an additional 10 years, I reached my peak and performance level in the trade. The reason I wanted to become a CTE instructor is after I served 15 years in the industry, I wanted to continue in the trade, but not as a technician. I was a student in the early ’80s taking automotive tune-up at RVC (Regional Vocational Center), which is currently SVCTE. I always remembered how much I enjoyed coming to this school as a high school student, being around all  the other students, and learning a trade for the very first time. The answer for me to continue in this trade was to become a teacher and give back to our youth and give them the same opportunities I was given as a young high school student. I have now served as the Auto Body Refinishing instructor for 21 years at SVCTE and I still have the same motivation and passion now that I had on my first day teaching back in August of 2001.