Your health matters, so protect yourself properly when detailing to avoid injuries and medical issues.
Disclaimer: This guide is for educational purposes only and we accept no liability for your health and safety, or those around you.
Why’ve I been linked to this guide?
You might not realise it, but many of the chemicals used in detailing can be quite harmful to your health – some are so dangerous that they can easily result in amputation or death. The purpose of this guide is to make sure you have a basic understanding of the safety equipment involved, but most importantly, to make sure that you are safe. The last thing anyone wants is for you to be injured – whether short or long term.
What this guide IS NOT:
This guide is not meant to tell you, for example, what type of gloves you should wear for a specific chemical. There are dozens of factors that impact things like this.
What this guide IS:
This guide’s purpose is to provide a basic overview of PPE that’s available, an understanding of the differences between them, and a general idea of what to wear and when.
Why should I care about this?
Choosing whether to wear PPE or not is a simple gamble. Would you rather spend $10 dollars on a pair of safety glasses, or risk blindness? It’s very common to think that “the chances are so small” or “I’m experienced and careful, these things only happen to idiots”. Your opinions do NOT provide protection, PPE does.
It may be a small chance, but people still play the lottery.
You may be experienced, but that goes two ways – complacency or safety.
Your organs aren’t easily replaced, nor are they cheap. PPE is easily replaced, won’t cost a fortune, and could save your life.
So, all that aside, this guide is being split into several sections, each one for the organ which needs protecting, starting from head down to toes. Some of the PPE listed below can prevent multiple organs, so you may find that they are listed more than once. One example of this is a full-face respirator; it can protect the lungs, eyes and skin all at the same time, so it is listed under each organ category, but the protection discussed will be relevant to the corresponding organ.
Eyes
Eye protection should be worn whenever there is any risk of something entering your eye. This could be a chemical, some dirt, or even the tools you’re using. Using tools like wheels brushes and pressure washers increase the risk that these will enter your eyes, as they can “flick” things back at your face. They are often available tinted for use in sunlight (and these can protect from UV too). There are a few different styles, so what are the differences?
Safety glasses
These are the most common and are often shaped like “sports” sunglasses. They are usually made of polycarbonate and will protect the eye against solid objects. Whilst the material they’re made of can protect from liquids, their design won’t stop liquids from going around them and entering the eye. Some glasses can have some extra protection against this, but where liquids are concerned, they are often insufficient. These are the bare minimum for eye protection.
Safety Goggles
A step up from glasses, these protect the eyes from all directions, however they are not all equal and can offer different types of protection. They can be found in both vented and non-vented varieties, the difference being that the former has “air-holes” to prevent misting and improve comfort, whereas the latter does not. As they fulfil different purposes, they are separated out below.
Vented Goggles
As well as protection from foreign objects, these can prevent a small liquid splash, but not completely – they are, at least, a vast improvement over glasses. They offer no protection from mists or vapours, as these will very easily pass through the vents.
Non-Vented Goggles
These have no ventilation whatsoever, and will therefore give higher protection against liquids, mists, and vapours. When non-solid substances are the primary concern, non-vented goggles are the minimum.
Face Shields
These can come in several different varieties, offering varying levels and types of protection. The most basic are a thin, clear plastic which is only suitable against small liquid splashes or foreign objects (like spray and dirt from a wheel brush) and offers very little protection from heavy and/or fast-moving foreign objects and offer no protection from mists and vapours. Up from this are thicker, polycarbonate ones that can protect from high-speed impacts (think angle grinders) and again can be found vented and un-vented.
Full-Face Respirator
A combination of eye and lung protection, this will provide a high level of protection from solids, liquids and gases. You should be aware, however, that like with Safety Goggles, their protection can vary between designs, and you should ensure that it provides the required level of safety.
Ears
Ear protection is often overlooked, and the results of doing so may not become apparent for many years. Failure to protect your hearing could at best result in tinnitus, at worst deafness. Tinnitus is where your inner ear becomes damaged, and you hear a constant, high-pitched tone. I personally have tinnitus because of listening to loud music from being an early teenager, up to DJing as a young adult. Thankfully mine is only mild, however severe cases can cause a significant impact on your quality of life AND health, due to side effects such as depression, concentration and issues sleeping. Prolonged exposure to loud noises can also reduce your ability to hear as you age. I’m only in my early 30’s and I struggle to hear conversations in a busy environment such as a store or bar because of my own ignorance and carelessness. You might be surprised to hear that many vacuum cleaners come very close to the legal limit at which PPE must be worn (85dbB – UK). Polishing can also be quite loud, and can take several hours so take noise levels into consideration.
Ear protection will come with an NRR/SNR. These stand for Noise Reduction Rating (USA) and Single Number Rating (EU/UK). If there is no rating stated, assume they offer NO protection. Whilst they both measure how much the protection will reduce external noise by, NRR and SNR are not interchangeable – only use the one that is relevant to your country.
Ear Plugs
Usually small foam cylinders that you squeeze and compress, before inserting into the ear. They are also available in other designs, like round silicone “barbs” that you can simply push into the ear. They can provide a high level of ear protection, when used correctly. They can be found as single use or multi-use. Silicone ones are often available where the pair are connected by a thread, allowing you to remove them and let them dangle around your neck. Useful if you need to take them in and out repeatedly. Foam ones are not as suited to this.
Ear Defenders
They can offer the same, or even higher levels of protection than ear plugs. They look like large headphones and again, come in several styles. Some have built-in Bluetooth for music playback, walkie-talkie functionality and higher end models can even “listen” to the external noise and allow speech and alarms through, whilst attenuating the noise level to safe limits. Some high end ones can also only attenuate the noise level when it reaches a certain threshold; these are commonly used by shooters as they will protect against the sudden gunshot, whilst allowing everything in-between shots.
Headphones
Headphones, earphones etc. DO NOT PROVIDE ANY HEARING PROTECTION (unless they are Ear Defenders with built in speakers, like mentioned above).
It doesn’t matter whether they are active noise cancelling (ANC) or noise isolating, unless they are designed and APPROVED for use as hearing protection, they will provide NONE – despite what you may see people saying. The only benefit they can provide to you (other than your excellent taste in music) is that with ANC, because background noise APPEARS quieter, you don’t have to turn your music up as loud to drown it out. This doesn’t mean they can replace proper ear protection though. If noise levels are above a certain level, protection should be worn. If listening to music or audiobooks is essential to you, then invest in some ear defenders with that capability.
Lungs
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that looking after your lungs is essential to, you know, stayin’ alive. Risks to your lungs can come from dust, foreign objects, vapours, and pathogens. The use of air-moving tools, such as air compressors and vacuum cleaners can cause dust and debris to become airborne, posing a risk of inhalation. Vapours from some chemicals, like acid wheel cleaners, ceramic coatings and solvents like panel-prep-spray can also cause significant harm if inhaled, either instantly or over a longer term. Dust can cause health issues, and the risks involved shouldn’t be taken lightly. Some other airborne debris can also be more of a nuisance, than a risk to your health. A good example of this is pet hair – drill brushes are commonly used to loosen up debris in carpets and make vacuuming easier. This will cause that debris to become airborne, and getting dog hair in your mouth really doesn’t feel very nice (trust me on this one). As always, several forms of protection exist.
Ventilation
Seriously, open a window and put a fan in it. It stops the air from becoming stagnant. This is a big issue when using anything with harmful vapours such as PPS, as over time the content of these vapours in the air will increase, meaning increased risk, and your filters won’t last as long. If you can work outside, do.
Face Masks
These exist in several forms, but often provide the wearer with NO protection for our uses. What we’re talking about here are things like surgical masks, or the cheapest, nastiest “dust masks” that unscrupulous hardware stores sell. If they do not comply to a relevant standard, they essentially do nothing to protect the wearer.
Single-Use Respirators
These DO provide protection to the user and come in a multitude of designs and levels of protection. The cheapest are made almost entirely of fabric and have elastic straps to hold it in place on the head as well as some wire to let you shape it around your nose. They are single use, meaning they should be disposed after use. There is more to these than simple filtration, the material often has a static charge that is used to trap material from passing through that filtration alone may not.
Half-Face Respirators
Up from this, are half-face respirators. They cover the same area, but the body is made from flexible silicone and plastic and has elasticated, adjustable straps to provide a good seal and level of comfort. They have replaceable filters which are available in various specifications, depending on the use case.
Full-Face Respirators
These can offer the same protection to the lungs as a half-face respirator but have the added functionality of protecting the entire face. Where harm from liquids and solids is also a concern, these are preferable over half-face respirators as the two separate devices can sometimes interfere with each other and become uncomfortable.
Powered Air
A blower motor supplies filtered air to a somewhat loose-fitting hood, and the positive air pressure inside the hood means contaminants are kept from entering, whilst the breathing air is filtered from airborne risks. Can be ideal for eyeglass wearers as you are free to wear them underneath the hood. Beyond this we are looking at supplied air systems, but they are much more than anything we as detailers should need.
Skin
The largest organ in the human body and obviously the most exposed. It comes into contact with everything and is not an impermeable, invulnerable barrier. As such, it is important to look after it. There are a multitude of ways to harm your skin, the most obvious one being cutting it open – although this isn’t something we’ll be covering here, as the main focus is to cover the largest area, and that’s primarily chemical.
Gloves
Should you wear them? Yes. When should you wear them? Before starting any work. Seriously – they’re dirt cheap, come in boxes of 100 and if you don’t wear them, you will eventually wish you had. I’m not going into specifics of different types of gloves, thicknesses or materials. There are far too many to cover in this guide, the aim of which is more for general information. Buy a pack of compliant gloves and wear them from start to finish. Change them as often as required, as well as often enough to let your hands air out. Important note: Wearing gloves will cause your pores to open up and increase the risk of chemical absorption through the skin. If anything gets inside your glove, wash hands and replace gloves with a fresh pair.
Face Shield/Full-Face Respirator
These will protect your facial skin from potential harm. I’ve already covered these under the other sections, but by now it should be clear that having a layer of polycarbonate between your face and the nasty stuff has some very good benefits.
Footwear
Yes, there’s skin down there too! Whilst your breathable mesh running shoes are super comfortable in the warm weather, they are terrible for preventing, well, anything from entering them. Ingress from a dangerous chemical such as an acid has obvious health risks, but it doesn’t end there. If you’ve been cleaning a car and step in a puddle of water, now you’ve got wet feet, socks and shoes. I’d be surprised if you brough replacements with you, so now your feet are sopping wet all day. This will increase your risk of blisters, fungal infections and so on. During wintertime, it can be extremely uncomfortable as water conducts heat 27 times more than air!
Moisturiser
Moisturising your skin will prevent it from drying out. You’re more likely to get skin irritations when it’s dry, so keeping it moisturised has plenty of benefits (other than soft skin). No one likes hands that feel like sandpaper!
Barrier Cream
This is a special cream that forms a protective barrier to protect the skin from minor irritations that can be caused by things like oils. Barrier cream is NOT a replacement for gloves. It is a useful addition to your arsenal, which gives your skin another layer of protection.
Bodysuit
Think of something like a “decorators’ suit”. They go over your clothes and protect against exterior threats. They come in many levels of protection, ranging from something you’re using just to stop getting yourself dirty, all the way up to protection against asbestos and pathogens. They don’t provide the same level as a full-on HAZMAT suit, but when combined with other PPE, they’re the next best thing. Check that the suit covers your needs as they can vary in levels of protection against things like liquids.
Clothing
You might not think of it as PPE, but it provides good protection against UV rays from the sun, and steel-toed shoes are handy in case you drop that polisher on your foot. If you’re outdoors, sunglasses, hats and long-sleeved shirts will all help prevent skin cancer (not to mention looking like a used teabag at the age of 40).
Conclusion
You are responsible for your own safety. If you’re a business owner or are responsible for others, then you have a duty of care over those people. You need to read all the relevant chemical documentation and ensure sufficient PPE is required. Failure to do so can be illegal, not to mention HARMFUL!
Everyone’s fine until they’re not.
Wearing PPE is like wearing a seatbelt in a car. No one expects to get into a car crash, but you still wear a seatbelt.
No one expects to get acid wheel cleaner in their eyes, but if you do, I hope you’re wearing the correct PPE. If you don’t, you might not be able to read the messages on this server, drive a car, or see your loved ones again.
One last thing is that prevention is better than protection – if you can make the process safer by using safer chemicals and avoiding high dust levels – this will give you much MUCH better outcomes in the event of an incident. That said, you should still wear the appropriate PPE, despite how safe you think your process is.
Be safe, you’ve only got one body.
Contributors
- Jeyy, jbobcul