Role guide · Painter & decorator
Decorators' whites look like tradition for its own sake — until you know the logic: every splash shows instantly on white, which is exactly what you want when the splash was heading for a customer's carpet. The rest of the list is dust, solvents and knees.
The list
| Item | Spec | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bib & brace or painter's trousers | White, multi-pocket, EN 14404 knees | Skirting and floors are knee work — why bib beats coverall here |
| White tee or polo ×3 | Cotton-rich, boil-washable | Emulsion washes out hot; the white shows every miss |
| Dust mask | FFP2 filler & softwood · FFP3 old paint & MDF | Sanding is the trade's lung exposure |
| Gloves | Nitrile disposables + thin coated pair | Solvents and 2-pack products go straight through latex |
| Eye protection | EN 166, N-coated | Ceiling work rains specks; fogged specs come off |
| Footwear | O1/S1 low-profile, clean soles | Light, quiet, and kind to finished floors |
| Overshoes & sheets | Always in the van | The kit that protects the customer's house |
The specifics
The romance of the trade is brushwork; the exposure is preparation. Machine-sanding filler and softwood sits at FFP2; MDF and — critically — old painted surfaces step up to FFP3, because pre-modern coatings can carry lead and the dust deserves respect (suspect lead paint has its own safe-work rules beyond a mask). Extraction-equipped sanders do the heavy lifting; the mask backs them up.
Solvent handling sets the glove spec: nitrile resists the white spirits and 2-pack products that swell latex, with a gauntlet-and-SDS approach for anything industrial. And whites earn their second function at day's end: emulsion-marked cotton boil-washes back to white — the whites playbook transfers almost intact.
Details
Questions
Function dressed as tradition: white shows every splash and smudge instantly — a wearable warning system in customer houses — hides white-paint marks between washes, and boil-washes clean. It also reads as professional in a trade sold on neatness.
FFP2 for filler and softwood; FFP3 for MDF and old painted surfaces — pre-modern paint can carry lead, and suspected lead paint work has safe-working rules beyond mask choice. Extraction sanders remain the primary control.
Nitrile — disposable for coatings work, heavier nitrile gauntlets for solvent-heavy tasks. White spirit and 2-pack products degrade latex quickly; check the product's safety data sheet where anything industrial is involved.
Everything on the list is stocked and embroiderable — one order, one account.