Mechanic Wear: 9 Pieces of Essential Protective Gear for Mechs

Did you know that working as a mechanic is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country? It’s actually more dangerous than working as a firefighter or a police officer.

With this in mind, it’s very important for mechanics to wear the right mechanic wear when they’re on the job. Otherwise, they could end up getting injured or even killed at a moment’s notice.

There is all kinds of protective gear that has been created with mechanics in mind. Here are nine pieces of essential mechanic wear that every mechanic should have on when they’re working on a vehicle.

1. Nitrile Gloves

Mechanics spend the majority of every day working with their hands. They’re almost always gripping tools to tighten and loosen auto parts and to diagnose problems with cars.

They’re also putting their hands into harm’s way every time they put them near any of the fluids found in cars. Many of these fluids could cause damage to their hands and put them out of work if they touch their skin.

The nitrile gloves found on this website can help with this issue. These gloves are designed to allow mechanics to work with their hands without exposing them to dangerous chemicals.

The gloves are also great for preventing blisters and for helping mechanics keep their hands clean. They’re very affordable, too, which is why every mechanic should have a box of nitrile gloves at their workstation.

2. Utility Work Gloves

Nitrile gloves will keep a mechanic’s hands protected if they ever come into contact with chemicals. But they’re also very thin, which means that they might not protect their hands if, say, something heavy falls on them.

It’s why mechanics should also keep a pair of durable utility work gloves nearby. They can throw these gloves on when they’re tackling a more heavy-duty project.

Utility work gloves will do more than just protect a mechanic’s hands, too. They’re also capable of giving mechanics a better grip when they’re trying to pull a piece from a car or get something loose.

3. Safety Glasses

As you might imagine, there are lots of things that can get into a mechanic’s eyes when they’re looking under the hood of a car or underneath a car looking up at it. From regular old dust to grime that has built up on a car over time, a mechanic’s eyes are always under attack.

For this reason, mechanics should have their eyes covered with safety glasses at all times. These glasses will prevent anything from getting into their eyes while they’re working.

4. Earplugs

If you’ve ever walked into a garage when a mechanic was working, the first thing you probably noticed was the noise. You can hear it loud and clear before you even set foot in a garage.

Mechanics are always revving engines, hammering away at parts, and trying to figure out what’s going on with cars. As a result, the garages they work in are very noisy.

Mechanics can do a number on their ears and hurt their long-term hearing if they don’t limit the amount of noise they face every day. They should put in earplugs when they can to prevent noise from taking a toll on their ability to hear.

5. Masks

Mechanics do what they can to limit the fumes that fill up a garage. They can get very sick if they’re routinely subjected to these fumes day in and day out.

It’s just about impossible to prevent all fumes from building up in a garage space, though. So many mechanics will wear masks when they’re working on cars that seem to be producing a lot of fumes.

They’ll also wear masks when they’re using chemicals in or on cars to fix them up. It stops these fumes from entering their systems and causing illnesses.

6. Back Braces

The average new car weighs more than 4,000 pounds these days. That’s up from right around 3,200 pounds about 30 years ago.

Obviously, mechanics aren’t ever asked to lift an entire car on their own. But they are asked to pick up some of the parts that are inside of them, and certain parts can be very heavy.

Mechanics will often turn to back braces to make lifting these parts more manageable. These braces prevent them from straining their backs and enduring other back problems.

7. Knee Pads

When you think about a mechanic hard at work, you probably think about them bent over the hood of a car or rolling around underneath of it. But oftentimes, mechanics will have to get down on their knees to perform certain auto repairs.

This can be very uncomfortable since this puts their knees in direct contact with the concrete floors in garages. To prevent the pain that comes along with this, they’ll sometimes stick knee pads in between their knees and the floor to soften the blow.

8. Work Boots

As we just mentioned a minute ago, mechanics work with a lot of heavy auto parts throughout the course of a normal day. Those parts could do damage to their feet if they ever drop one on them.

All mechanics should wear work boots that are designed to prevent their toes and feet from getting hurt if they drop something. Mechanics should never walk around in a garage at work with sneakers or any kind of open-toed shoes on.

9. Heavy-Duty Hand Soap

Technically, this isn’t “mechanic wear,” but it’s still worth mentioning.

Even if a mechanic wears gloves all day long, their hands are going to be filthy at the end of a long day. It’s important for them to wash away dirt and grime with a heavy-duty hand soap made for mechanics.

Invest in the Best Mechanic Wear You Can Find

To work as a mechanic, you need to spend a small fortune on tools. Most veteran mechanics have anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 worth of tools on hand at any given moment.

These tools are important, but the mechanic wear that mechanics have is every bit as essential. It’s what mechanics use to keep themselves safe while they have their tools in their hands.

Keep reading our blog if you’re a mechanic or a car enthusiast who wants to learn more about staying safe while making auto repairs.