The starching process of welding clothing has been around for a long time and is done by amateur and even professional welders. It was a tradition back when Borax was a standard ingredient in most clothes because of it’s fire retardant feature. Let’s get to know more about welding clothing and the starching process, why welders do it and how you can actually do it at home.
Why do welders starch their clothes?
The easy answer to this question is this – welders starch their clothes as a way to prolong the usability of their welding clothing. Yes, FR clothing lasts for a long time but they can get quite expensive. So, welders get creative on how they can extend the life of the piece of garment they have. Hence, starching their clothes.
Basically, starch prevents dirt from accumulating on fabric. And if ever dirt does accumulate on the welding clothing, it washes off easily. It also helps prevent sparks, slaf, and spatter from penetrating your garments. This means you protect your skin for any burns. It also makes a piece of garment oil resistant. When ironed properly on a piece of garment, liquid starch becomes a natural flame resistor.
What kind of welders clothes can be starched?
Remember that you should only starch 100% denim or cotton. If ever you’ve purchased an FR pants or FR jacket, you may starch them to add an extra layer of protection but this isn’t really necessary.
Remember that starching welding clothes does not make it equivalent to a flame retardant garment. This will only help in preventing clothing burns.
Starching Process – How to starch Welding Clothes?
Starching welding clothes is something you can do by yourself at home. You just need the right process and the right materials to do so. A video by pipeline welder Austin Ross gives an excellent step by step process on how to do it via a video on YouTube which you can watch below.