HAND PROTECTION

You are working with chemicals so your hands should be well protected.   Although most fiberglass boatbuilders work without protection, using gloves or barrier cream will protect sensitive skin and even non-sensitive skin.

EYE PROTECTION

Some hoods and respirators also incorporate eye protection.   For certain jobs, separate goggles are important.  You will need to choose between goggles and safety glasses, both of which should provide side protection.   When grinding fibreglass and other associated materials, it is amazing the various trajectories the ground particles can take so always wear eye protection when grinding.

EAR AND HEARING PROTECTION

If you are working in conditions where the noise level is in the 80 plus decibel range, you should consider using ear plugs or earmuffs.  One professional boatbuilder even insisted that the foam earplugs have florescent cords so the foreman could see, from a distance, that the plugs were being worn!

BODY PROTECTION

Good body protection is achieved by wearing a disposable body suit  Suits have improved in the past few years and most now feel more comfortable to wear while still providing the necessary protection.   How you feel about wearing a suit may depend on the climate.   Some hot climates call for creative arrangement such as the tissue paper suits worn by some boat builders.  Overalls are still a good option.

FOOTWEAR

Your feet are the easiest things to protect.   A lot of fibreglass workers wear sneakers/sand shoes and although these aren’t the ultimate protection they do a good job in this environment. When gun laying sneakers are very useful as they can be slipped on and off without hands which is useful when you came off the job and want to change footwear.