Fire retardent shirts

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I been usin weldin shirts for bout 3 years, work well for me, recently tho, i been lookin into other options, one of them bein fire/flame retardent shirts. I aint know nothin bout em, cept for the claim: fire retardent.  when i was overseas, i used my army blouse (claimed to be FR) to weld trailer legs in the overhead.  The end result wasnt too bad, a few burns and small holes, question is, are the FR welding shirts worth the money?  I wear leathers usually when i run overhead in the states, when i got all my gear availible
Reply:My limited understanding on the subject is that it requires a "specail" detergent to keep them "FR" rated.
Reply:I wear FR coveralls all the time. Most of them are the Bulwark brand. The fabric is 100% cotton, treated with a FR chemical. Regular detergent (Tide,etc) is fine, it is the laundry 'soap' (Ivory Snow) that is a no-no.That being said, if I had to buy them myself (mine are employer provided), I would probably go with the standard heavy denim shirts.
Reply:Originally Posted by drujininMy limited understanding on the subject is that it requires a "specail" detergent to keep them "FR" rated.
Reply:Heavy starch will work wonders aswell.
Reply:Welding bb's will burn right through the FR shirts just like a non FR shirt. The FR designation just means it's rated for a flash fire not welding bb's.
Reply:Yep, I have a decent scar from when I first tried overhead welding... wearing FR cotton. It took close to a month to heal. It didn't catch on fire, but it didn't stop the burn either.Lincoln 175HD
Reply:Nothing works like leather.  It gives the best protection, and peace of mind.Peace of mind is a biggy when working overhead.  If you quit worrying about the falling slag, you can concentrate on the puddle and keep it from spilling while filling it to the proper height/size.Of course   I ususally wind up with a big dollop of slag in my lap AFTER it's rolled off my protective jacketSo, it's like an arms race.  First a leather jacket, then leather pants, and ultimately........................................  .......leather UNDIES  "Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Wool is naturally fire resistant. But, it doesn't keep out the BB's either.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:Besides my leathers, I bought that cheap HF welding set with gloves, pouch, and leather apron. The apron is holding up really well. Great for grinding, it saved a lot of shirts for me. Cheap with coupon 20% off was 10.00