Car detailers are faced with trash, vapor, cigarette smells, detailing chemicals (APCs, Coatings, Dressings, etc.), and many other things that aren’t healthy at all.
Using PPE (personal protective equipment) is important if you want to stay protected from all the harmful things you’re faced with while detailing cars.
In this post, I’ll show you the best PPE for cars that every auto detailer should have and use, in my opinion.
Must-Have PPE For Car Detailers
Here’s all the personal protective equipment that you should have if you’re a car detailer.
Gloves
Gloves are the most important PPE for auto detailing because of the following:
- They’ll protect the skin on your hands from various chemicals.
- By wearing gloves, you won’t touch all the trash and questionable items while deep cleaning the interior.
The hands are the most exposed part of our body to all the chemicals, trash, contaminants, dust, dirt, etc. That’s the reason why wearing high-quality, chemical-resistant gloves is very important.
When it comes to picking gloves, there isn’t much to worry about. Any gloves will do the job.
However, if you asked me, I would choose these GlovePlus Disposable Gloves from Amazon; they’re one of the best gloves for car detailing.
Face Masks
While I personally don’t prefer wearing face masks, you should wear them if you’re deep cleaning a car, compounding and polishing, or painting the car.
A high-quality mask will prevent you from inhaling all those harmful chemicals and also help you to withstand the bad odor of some very dirty cars.
There are two types of masks that you should consider buying:
- Medical face mask
- Professional face protective mask
I suggest that everyone buy a medical face mask, which is the most affordable one and will protect you from general detailing jobs such as washing, cleaning the interior, and cleaning the extraction, etc.
However, if you often do ceramic coatings, polishing, compounding, paint correction, or similar, you should consider buying yourself a professional face protective mask. I like face masks from 3M company, check it below.
Of course, I mentioned some face masks between those two, so I’ll leave the choice up to you. Any mask is better than no mask, so get one.
Protective Glasses
Whatever goes into your eyes will enter your bloodstream. This is especially important when you’re using APC, carpet cleaning solutions, waxes, ceramic coatings, etc.
That’s why wearing protective glasses is just as important as using gloves and a face mask. It’s a very cheap piece of equipment, and it would be a shame if you don’t invest $5-15 for your safety.
Of course, there’s no need to wear them all the time, but if you’re polishing or painting a car, I’d use them.
Cap
You should also use a cap whenever you’re detailing outside, especially if you’re detailing vehicles somewhere in the sun.
Wearing a cap will prevent the heat from the sun goes directly on your head, which will make it easier for you to work outside.
Any cap with eyelets will be fine since those have better airflow.
Waterproof Sneakers
First things first, the most important thing about sneakers is that they should be comfortable for you.
Wearing uncomfortable shoes for 8-9 hours will hurt your legs.
Furthermore, I suggest you get some waterproof sneakers because you work a lot with water. It’s a very common situation that you get your feet wet, which isn’t good for your health.
There are also some fabric protectant sprays that you can use on your sneakers to lower the chance of water entering inside.
Long Pants
I know wearing long pants is hard, especially in the summer. And I’m gonna be honest with you; even I don’t do that.
However, if you have sensitive skin, you should always use long paints when detailing.
Some of the chemicals may be very irritating to your skin and will very likely cause itching on your skin.
Should You Buy Expensive PPE Only?
There is no need to spend too much money on safety gear.
However, I would recommend you not to be stingy when it comes to buying these:
- Face masks
- Gloves
- Shoes
As I said earlier, those two are the most important safety equipment for every car detailer, and you should wear them all the time.
Conclusion
You know, we all neglect our health too much. Not only when it comes to car detailing but all the time.
Those bad chemicals, vapors, and more aren’t a joke. I would be happy if you took at least some of my recommendations and protected your health.
I think that I showed you the most important safety gear that every car detailer should have, and more importantly – USE IT.
Of course, you could get plenty of other things to protect yourself even more, such as aprons, etc.
Whatever you can do to protect your health, do it. Your own health should always be in the first place. Stay healthy, guys!
