You’ve probably seen welding curtains at some point in time. They come in all shapes and sizes. They’re used to protect you from the harmful radiation, debris, and fumes that welding gives off. They provide a barrier between those welding, who will most likely have equipment that protects them from hazards, and a bystander working nearby or passing through the area who doesn’t have any protection.
There are many different colours of welding curtains. Some are solid colours, while others are transparent. But do these colours make a difference? Stick around and we’ll give you a brief walkthrough of each colour of welding curtain and how they protect you.
Know What Kind of Welding You Will Be Doing
All colours offer better protection for certain frequencies of radiation and blue light. This is why it is important to know what kind of welding you will be doing so that you may pick the best colour curtain for your purpose. It is best practice to have multiple colours of curtains at the ready so that you and your crew will always be protected. Using transparent colours will also allow your welders to see their surroundings.
One of the purposes of welding curtains is to block the ultraviolet light from being transmitted through the curtain itself. Generally, all colours will block about 90-99% of this light from escaping so long as they are being used within the correct frequencies.
Blue light is not as harmful as ultraviolet light. However, it can be seen and can cause eye irritation. For that reason, certain colours should be used with different frequencies of welding. At a lower wavelength (around 0-500nm), all colours but blue are recommended. At higher frequencies (500nm and above), yellow and orange curtains should be avoided.
What Colours Work Best for ALL Frequencies?
There are many shades that work excellent in all frequencies. All colours work almost perfectly as long as used within the range of frequency recommended. In fact, while orange is not recommended for frequencies above 550nm, under that it lets almost no ultraviolet or blue light in. Blue curtains do quite the opposite at the same levels. But once over a frequency 550nm, blue blocks out all of the harmful light.
So what colour is best for all frequencies? A black welding curtain will block virtually all harmful ultraviolet and blue light at all frequencies. A close second and third would be green and grey respectively, although as the frequency increases to over 600nm the amount of light blocked is only around 90%.
If you are looking for the best protection from all light radiating from welding equipment, a black curtain is the best colour to get. You will rest easy knowing that you and your workers are being protected from the harmful rays given off.
Still have questions or want more details about each colour? Contact us. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about our welding curtains.
