Paintwork is the layer of paint on something, especially a car, and also a door, a window frame, or the outside of a house. You talk about it when the painted surface itself matters: scratched paintwork, shiny paintwork, the paintwork needs a wash. It is the finished skin, not the act of painting and not the tin in the shop. The word is more at home in British English; in American English people often just say the paint or the paint job. It is an ordinary, slightly practical word — the kind you hear in a garage or when someone is being careful with a car.