Sector guide · Automotive trade
The garage trade is living through its biggest kit change since the ramp replaced the pit: the oily-coverall wardrobe that served a century of combustion now shares a locker with arc-rated garments for high-voltage EV work. Both wardrobes have rules worth knowing.
The sector
The workshop floor runs on the classic list — coveralls or two-piece kit in rotation (the oil-saturation rule decides replacement), nitrile disposables under work gloves for fluid jobs, S1P footwear, and eye protection that actually goes on for grinding and under-car work. Our mechanic's role guide covers the individual kit in detail.
The bodyshop adds chemistry: isocyanate paints make spray booths air-fed-RPE territory under COSHH, with disposable coveralls and nitrile gloves for prep and blow-down — the sector's most regulated corner, run to the booth's rules. And the EV bay imports electrical-trade discipline: IEC 61482 arc-rated garments and insulating gloves for authorised technicians on live high-voltage tasks, with everyone else's kit unchanged but their task boundaries newly sharp.
Kit by role
| Role | The kit that matters | The spec detail |
|---|---|---|
| Technicians | Coveralls/two-piece in rotation, nitrile, S1P | Oil-day laundering sets the cycle |
| MOT testers & valeters | Fitted kit, wet-work gloves, grippy footwear | Wet floors and customer cars all day |
| Bodyshop prep & paint | Disposable coveralls, gloves; booth RPE regime | Isocyanates: the booth's COSHH rules lead |
| EV-authorised techs | Arc-rated layer + insulating gloves for HV tasks | IEC 61482 decoded |
| Service desk & parts | Embroidered polos, softshells | The customer-facing FOH logic |
Management notes
Questions
Coveralls or two-piece workwear bought in rotation quantities (oil saturation retires them), nitrile disposables under task gloves for fluid work, S1P safety footwear, and eye protection for grinding and under-car tasks. The garage's real challenge is rotation discipline, not garment choice.
Two-pack paints contain isocyanates, so booth spraying runs under COSHH controls with air-fed respiratory protection, disposable coveralls and nitrile gloves — governed by the booth's regime and the paint system's data sheets. Prep and blow-down outside the booth still need disposables and RPE per assessment.
Technicians authorised for live or potentially-live high-voltage work increasingly wear IEC 61482 arc-rated garments with insulating gloves and face protection for those tasks. Routine work on isolated vehicles continues in ordinary workshop kit — the authorisation boundary, set by training and the workshop's procedures, is where the wardrobe changes.
Send the roles and headcount — we'll come back with a kit list per role, embroidered and priced.