PPE for welding: what actually protects you
Four hazards, and the equipment for each is defined by a standard. What follows is what those standards require and where welders most often cut the corner.
Eyes and face
A helmet to EN 175 with a filter to EN 379, at the shade the shade calculator gives. The shell protects against spatter and impact; the filter protects against ultraviolet, infrared and visible light.
Two things people get wrong. First, safety glasses under the helmet are not optional — the helmet comes up for chipping and grinding, and that is when the slag flies. Second, arc eye does not require welding: standing near someone else's arc without eye protection for a few minutes is enough, and the pain arrives six to twelve hours later. Details in welding helmet.
Hands
Gloves to EN 12477, in two types: type A for stick and MIG, heavier and less dexterous, and type B for TIG, thinner so you can feel the rod. Leather, stitched with heat-resistant thread — synthetic stitching fails and the glove comes apart along a seam.
Gauntlets long enough to go under the sleeve, not over it: a cuff worn over the sleeve is a funnel for spatter.
Body
Clothing to EN ISO 11611, class 1 for light spatter and class 2 for heavy work and overhead welding. Leather apron and sleeves over the top when welding overhead, where everything that falls, falls on you.
Trousers outside the boots, never tucked in. Pockets closed or absent. No turn-ups — a turn-up catches a globule of molten metal and holds it against the ankle, which is one of the classic welding burns.
Feet
Boots to EN ISO 20345 with a toecap, and — the part that matters for welding specifically — closed at the ankle with no laces exposed. Metatarsal protection where heavy material is handled. Rubber soles for electrical insulation, which matters more than most welders think: see electrical safety.
Lungs
Extraction at the arc is the primary control and PPE is the backup, in that order — the reasoning is in welding fume and ventilation. Where a respirator is needed, FFP3 for particulates, or a powered air-purifying respirator built into the helmet for long sessions and confined spaces.
A dust mask from a builders' merchant is not respiratory protection against welding fume. Welding fume particles are in the sub-micron range, which is exactly what FFP3 is rated for and FFP1 is not.
Hearing
Not for the arc — for the grinding, chipping and the air tools that surround it. Earplugs also stop spatter entering the ear canal when welding overhead, which sounds like a small thing until it happens.
Frequently asked questions
Are ordinary work gloves good enough?
No. Welding gloves are tested to EN 12477 for heat, contact heat and radiant heat as well as mechanical strength, and ordinary gloves are not. Synthetic gloves are worse than none: they melt onto the skin, which turns a burn into a graft.
Why not a synthetic overall?
Because polyester and nylon melt at temperatures a spark reaches easily, and molten synthetic sticks to skin. Welding clothing is leather or flame-retardant cotton to EN ISO 11611, and the class on the label tells you which spatter level it was tested for.
Do I need a respirator if there is extraction?
Depends on the material and how good the extraction is. Local extraction at the arc is the primary control; a respirator is the backup. On stainless, on galvanised steel and in confined spaces, wear both — chromium(VI) has no safe exposure level worth arguing about.
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