Smooth surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges.

“Smooth surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges.” is a core task performed by Potters, Manufacturing. Among the occupation's 24 rated tasks, workers place it 13th by importance (#12 most important). About 82% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment. in Handling and Moving Objects

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Operate gas or electric kilns to fire pottery pieces. · importance 4.8
• Start machine units and conveyors and observe lights and gauges on panel board to verify operational efficiency. · importance 4.6
• Raise and shape clay into wares, such as vases and pitchers, on revolving wheels, using hands, fingers, and thumbs. · importance 4.6
• Mix and apply glazes to pottery pieces, using tools, such as spray guns. · importance 4.6
• Adjust wheel speeds according to the feel of the clay as pieces enlarge and walls become thinner. · importance 4.6
• Position balls of clay in centers of potters' wheels, and start motors or pump treadles with feet to revolve wheels. · importance 4.6
• Move pieces from wheels so that they can dry. · importance 4.5
• Prepare work for sale or exhibition, and maintain relationships with retail, pottery, art, and resource networks that can facilitate sale or exhibition of work. · importance 4.5
• Attach handles to pottery pieces. · importance 4.5
• Press thumbs into centers of revolving clay to form hollows, and press on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes. · importance 4.4
• Pack and ship pottery to stores or galleries for retail sale. · importance 4.3
• Pull wires through bases of articles and wheels to separate finished pieces. · importance 4.2
• Design spaces to display pottery for sale. · importance 4.2
• Verify accuracy of shapes and sizes of objects, using calipers and templates. · importance 4.2

See all tasks on the Potters, Manufacturing page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-15120,
  title  = {Smooth surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-15120}
}