General
Face protection must be used if glasses do not provide adequate protection to this area of the body. There are two types of face protection:
- Welding helmets and welding shields;
- Face protection.
Welding helmets and welding shields
A welding helmet or welding shield is suitable for situations in which coarse or fine dust, abrasive splashes or liquids that are not hazardous to the skin are released. A welding shield is held with one hand during welding. A welding helmet is a welding shield attached to a headband or a safety helmet. The advantage of this is that both hands are left free.
If your welding produces a lot of heat, use a gold-coated polycarbonate window. This window is very efficient at absorbing red and infra-red rays. The welding window must have the correct scale number to protect the eyes. The appropriate scale number increases according to the amount of acetylene or oxygen used during welding. A window with scale number 4-8 must be used for gas welding. A window with scale number 4-14 must be used for electric welding (the appropriate scale number depends on the welding current).
Face shields
A face shield is suitable for situations in which coarse or fine dust, abrasive splashes or liquids that are hazardous to the skin are released. The face is completely protected. Both hands are free.