Coating for Tools & Electrical Safety

Electrical safety is important because of the danger an electrical current poses to a worker making repairs. Tools can be coated to help prevent the user being hurt by electrical current. Different materials may be used, but as long as the material is an insulator then chances are good the tool is relatively safe for use.

Rubber

• One of the most common insulation materials, rubber, has been used in a variety of safety measures. Rubber gloves and boots are used to insulate workers from electrical hazards. Tools can be given rubber coatings to help stop the current. Additionally, these rubber coatings can be grooved or given a pattern to help improve grip, making them safer to use in electrically hazardous situations.

Plastic

• Plastics have been used in many of the same ways that rubber has. Electrical cables for instance have been insulated with plastic tubing, putting the tube directly around the copper wire in a jacket that's color coded. Plastic works well when wrapped around a tool, or when tools are partially made of plastic. For instance, screw driver handles can easily be made of plastic just as they can be made of other materials. The handles of other tools may be coated in plastic as well, which will prevent the movement of electricity through the tool to the holder.

Other Insulators

• While there are other insulation materials on the market, plastic and rubber are the most commonly used on tools. While materials like stone, kevlar cloth and other materials can act as insulators, they aren't practical when you're talking about coating a metal tool in the material while maintaining functionality. Some of these materials, like stone, are too bulky or awkward to use. Others, like kevlar, would be too expensive to use just to put a coating on a tool.