Hay River (Aug 07/06) - For Marc Bourdages, being an auto body technician requires a variety of skills.

"I do it all," said the employee of Poison Painting in Hay River. "I do the body work. I do the painting. I do the work from start to finish."

Marc Bourdages is an auto body technician at Poison Painting in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

An auto body technician also does some mechanical work, since fixing a vehicle damaged in an accident sometimes involves structural and engine components that need to be replaced or repaired.

"There's quite a few trades you have to have knowledge about," he said, adding the skills include welding and electrical.

The 40-year-old has been an auto body technician since about 1990 and has worked at Poison Painting for about five years.

"I find it interesting that you can take a damaged vehicle and do all the repairs, and it looks like it's never been in an accident," he says. "It looks like new again."

Bourdages, originally from Ontario but a Northern resident since 1980, said the best thing about the work is having an owner come in to pick up a repaired vehicle.

People are often upset when their vehicles are damaged, he noted, adding, for many people, their vehicles are their pride and joy.

"When it gets damaged, they're not happy."

But they get happy again when they see his work.

"That's what I like to see."

Aside from cars and trucks, Bourdages also sandblasts and paints heavy equipment.

Occasionally, he also restores old vehicles, like a 1968 Dodge Coronet he worked on several years ago.

Of all the work he does as part of his career, Bourdages said his favourite is welding.

"It's just something I like to do and I find it interesting."

The final step in most repairs is painting a vehicle.

"That's when you see it all come together," said Bourdages. When he selects a colour that matches a vehicle's existing colour, a computer will print out a formula for mixing the paint.

"Most people think we just pour it out of the can and start spraying."

In fact, some variations on the colour red, for example, might mean mixing seven different colours to get the exact match for a vehicle.