Top 12 Auto Body Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume

In a crowded auto repair market, an auto body technician wins attention with more than wrenches and welds. Your resume needs to show precision, clean technique, and a steady hand with customers too. A lean, focused portrait of what you can fix—and how well you finish it.

Auto Body Technician Skills

1. PDR (Paintless Dent Removal)
2. MIG Welding
3. TIG Welding
4. I-CAR Certification
5. ASE Certification
6. Color Matching
7. Frame Straightening
8. Sandblasting
9. AutoCAD
10. Fiberglass Repair
11. Aluminum Repair
12. 3M Collision Products

1. PDR (Paintless Dent Removal)

PDR removes small dents and dings without fillers or repainting, massaging metal back to shape while preserving the original finish.

Why It's Important

PDR saves time, keeps factory paint intact, and protects vehicle value. No fillers, less downtime, cleaner results.

How to Improve PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) Skills

Sharpen PDR with steady practice and thoughtful tooling.

1. Practice regularly: Use scrap hoods and doors. Tackle different sizes, crowns, and access challenges.

2. Choose quality tools: A varied set of rods, tips, knockdowns, and blending hammers matters. Cheap tools telegraph flaws.

3. Study metal movement: Understand tension, crowns, and how pressure transfers. Read the panel, not just the dent.

4. Dial in lighting: Lines or fog boards reveal highs and lows. Good light equals good accuracy.

5. Slow down: Controlled pushes beat force. Patience prevents overwork and texture.

Consistent reps build clean, invisible results.

How to Display PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) Skills on Your Resume

2. MIG Welding

MIG (GMAW) uses a wire electrode and shielding gas to join metals. It’s the workhorse for body panels, brackets, and light structural repairs.

Why It's Important

Fast, versatile, and strong on thin steel. Essential for safe, consistent collision repairs.

How to Improve MIG Welding Skills

Small tweaks transform your bead.

1. Match the machine to the job: For thin auto panels, use a welder tuned for light-gauge steel.

2. Set wire and voltage correctly: Tune settings to metal thickness. Test on scrap first, always.

3. Use appropriate wire: 0.023–0.030 inch ER70S-6 for mild steel body work is common.

4. Prep the metal: Strip paint, coatings, and rust. Clean metal makes clean welds.

5. Control heat: Stitch weld and skip around to limit distortion on thin panels.

6. Stay consistent: Maintain a steady travel speed and a 15–20° push angle.

7. Clean after: Remove spatter and oxidation to prevent corrosion and ease finishing.

Practice technique, then practice more. Smooth, even, repeatable.

How to Display MIG Welding Skills on Your Resume

3. TIG Welding

TIG (GTAW) uses a tungsten electrode for precise, clean welds on thin material—aluminum, stainless, and fine steel work.

Why It's Important

Control is everything. TIG delivers neat beads, minimal spatter, and low distortion—ideal for visible repairs and custom fabrication.

How to Improve TIG Welding Skills

Discipline beats brute force.

1. Set up correctly: Choose the right tungsten (2% lanthanated is a flexible pick), sharpen properly, size the cup and gas flow to the job.

2. Keep it spotless: Contamination ruins welds. Clean base metal and filler, dedicate brushes, wipe with solvent when needed.

3. Stabilize your hands: Brace wrists, control arc length, and feed filler smoothly.

4. Match filler to base: Use the correct alloy for strength and appearance.

5. Manage heat: Short arcs, tight puddle control, and pulse settings help protect thin panels.

6. Follow safety rules: Proper PPE, ventilation, and eye protection—non-negotiable.

Repetition builds rhythm. Rhythm builds beautiful welds.

How to Display TIG Welding Skills on Your Resume

4. I-CAR Certification

I-CAR recognizes collision repair training that meets current OEM repair standards. It signals safe, complete, quality work.

Why It's Important

Vehicles evolve fast. I-CAR training keeps your methods aligned with modern materials, ADAS considerations, and OEM procedures—boosting trust with shops and customers.

How to Improve I-CAR Certification Skills

Grow with a plan.

1. Map your path: Identify your current role and ProLevel, then target coursework that fills gaps.

2. Take structured classes: Body, refinish, structural, electrical/diagnostics—follow a sequence that matches your shop’s work mix.

3. Apply learning at work: Practice OEM procedures and document your repairs.

4. Stay current: Recurrent training keeps credentials active and skills sharp.

Certification is momentum—keep it moving.

How to Display I-CAR Certification Skills on Your Resume

5. ASE Certification

ASE validates technical competence. For collision, exams like B2 (Refinish), B3 (Non-Structural), B4 (Structural), and B5 (Mechanical/Electrical) showcase depth.

Why It's Important

It proves skill and professionalism. Employers notice. Customers feel safer. Your resume looks stronger.

How to Improve ASE Certification Skills

Prep with intention.

1. Get hands-on hours: Daily work reinforces test knowledge and judgment.

2. Study the test outlines: Focus on weak areas and blueprint your study time.

3. Use practice questions: Build familiarity with format and timing.

4. Attend training: Short courses and refreshers make tough topics click.

5. Keep up with technology: ADAS, aluminum, plastics, and OEM methods shift the landscape.

Steady study plus shop experience wins.

How to Display ASE Certification Skills on Your Resume

6. Color Matching

Matching paint so repairs disappear. Accounting for tint, flop, metallic, pearls, and fade—under different light.

Why It's Important

If the color’s off, the job looks off. Seamless blends protect appearance and resale value.

How to Improve Color Matching Skills

Art meets science.

1. Know color theory: Hue, value, chroma—understand how small shifts ripple through a mix.

2. Use proper lighting: Sunlight simulators and multiple light temperatures expose metamerism.

3. Leverage spectrophotometers: Start with a scan, then fine-tune by eye.

4. Blend panels: Panel-only matches are risky; blending hides tiny variances.

5. Practice on test cards: Document adjustments so the next match is faster.

The goal: invisible repairs, in any light.

How to Display Color Matching Skills on Your Resume

7. Frame Straightening

Returning a damaged unibody or frame to spec using pulling systems and precise measuring.

Why It's Important

Alignment and crash energy management depend on correct geometry. Get it wrong and safety suffers.

How to Improve Frame Straightening Skills

Accuracy first, always.

1. Follow OEM procedures: Use factory dimensions, sectioning points, materials, and fastening methods.

2. Use modern measuring: 3D electronic measuring verifies damage and confirms final alignment.

3. Sequence repairs smartly: Rough pull, measure, correct, then finalize. Don’t chase pulls blindly.

4. Mind materials: HSS, UHSS, aluminum, and composites each have limits and repair rules.

5. Train continually: Complex structures and ADAS mounts demand up-to-date skills.

Measure twice. Pull once. Verify always.

How to Display Frame Straightening Skills on Your Resume

8. Sandblasting

Media blasting removes rust, paint, and contaminants to prep metal for repair and refinish.

Why It's Important

Clean substrate, better adhesion, longer-lasting finishes. Simple truth.

How to Improve Sandblasting Skills

Gentle on panels, tough on rust.

1. Pick the right media: For thin auto panels, consider soda, walnut shell, or fine plastic to reduce warping risk.

2. Maintain equipment: Fresh nozzles, dry air, clean filters, consistent pressure—quality depends on it.

3. Protect yourself: Respiratory protection, gloves, eye/face shields, and ventilation are mandatory.

4. Use controlled technique: Correct angle (about 60–75°) and distance (roughly 18–24 inches). Keep motion steady.

5. Control dust: Cabinets or dust collection keep the workspace and parts clean.

6. Clean thoroughly after: Blow down and wipe surfaces before primer to avoid adhesion issues.

Preparation makes paint stick and stay.

How to Display Sandblasting Skills on Your Resume

9. AutoCAD

CAD software for precise 2D/3D drawings—useful for custom brackets, templates, jigs, and complex fabrication layouts.

Why It's Important

Tight designs mean fewer fitment surprises. CAD bridges ideas to parts that actually line up.

How to Improve AutoCAD Skills

Build fluency by doing real work.

1. Learn core tools: Layers, constraints, blocks, dimensioning, and parametrics.

2. Practice on shop needs: Draft patch panels, gussets, and fixture jigs you’ll actually cut or print.

3. Adopt standards: Set templates for title blocks, layers, and dimensions to speed repeat jobs.

4. Use references: Bring in scanned patterns or measurements to trace and scale.

5. Iterate: Version your files and keep notes on what improved fit and finish.

Precision in the file turns into precision on the car.

How to Display AutoCAD Skills on Your Resume

10. Fiberglass Repair

Repairing fiberglass panels with resin, mat/cloth, and a careful refinish to restore shape and strength.

Why It's Important

Corvettes, body kits, boats, commercial panels—fiberglass is everywhere. Safe, tidy repairs keep weight down and looks up.

How to Improve Fiberglass Repair Skills

Clean prep. Solid layups. Smooth finishing.

1. Assess damage fully: Look for delamination and cracks that extend beyond the obvious impact.

2. Prep like a pro: Grind a proper taper, clean thoroughly, and remove loose fibers.

3. Layer correctly: Size mat/cloth slightly larger than the repair, wet out fully, and avoid trapped air.

4. Control cure: Mind resin ratios, temperature, and humidity to prevent brittleness or under-cure.

5. Sand in stages: Coarse to fine, then glaze, prime, and block for a flat surface.

6. Finish strong: Color match, blend if needed, then polish after full cure.

7. Protect yourself: Respirator, gloves, eye protection—resins and dust are no joke.

The difference is in the featheredge and the final shine.

How to Display Fiberglass Repair Skills on Your Resume

11. Aluminum Repair

Repairing aluminum panels and structures with isolation, dedicated tools, and different heat and joining strategies than steel.

Why It's Important

Aluminum is light, corrosion-resistant, and common on hoods, doors, and trucks. It needs special handling to stay strong and clean.

How to Improve Aluminum Repair Skills

Respect the material.

1. Use dedicated tools: Separate hammers, dollies, and abrasives to prevent steel contamination.

2. Isolate the bay: Keep aluminum repairs away from ferrous grinding dust.

3. Clean thoroughly: Oxide layers and oils must go before welding or bonding.

4. Control heat: Aluminum conducts heat fast; monitor temperatures and use pulse when welding.

5. Join properly: Rivet-bonding and structural adhesives are common; follow OEM specs.

6. Prevent galvanic corrosion: Use compatible primers, sealers, and fasteners at dissimilar joints.

7. Train and certify: Aluminum-specific classes (welding, dent repair, bonding) pay off.

Clean environment, correct method, durable results.

How to Display Aluminum Repair Skills on Your Resume

12. 3M Collision Products

3M’s collision repair line includes abrasives, adhesives, fillers, primers, masking, and finishing systems designed for consistent, professional results.

Why It's Important

Matched systems—from grinding through polish—reduce variables. Predictable materials shorten cycle times and improve finish quality.

How to Improve 3M Collision Products Skills

Use the system as a system.

1. Follow technical data sheets: Mix ratios, flash times, grit steps—small deviations show up later.

2. Control environment: Temperature and humidity affect adhesives, fillers, and primers.

3. Stay consistent with grits: Use the recommended abrasive progression to avoid “ghost” scratches.

4. Mind shelf life: Rotate stock, cap containers, and label open dates.

5. Test on panels: Verify new products or processes on scrap before the real job.

6. Train the team: Short, regular refreshers keep everyone on the same page.

Right product, right step, right result.

How to Display 3M Collision Products Skills on Your Resume