Why do Painters where white uniforms when that is the color that shows every paint splash?

Why not just a plain t-shirt and old pants? Has anyone else ever wondered that?

From a company's stand point, a plain white uniform (when the company is purchasing them) serves two purposes:

1. They're CHEAP. No color, basic fabric, and no logo costs the company WAY less than even a black t-shirt and jeans.

2. The white lends a sense of neatness, which is important when you're entrusting your house to complete strangers.

So they can use bleach? I think more than likely they are cheaper for a company to buy them, plus its an easy way to make sure all employees are in uniform *some colors tend to fade after a while, and with the different ways people wash their clothes it can fade faster than some.

I paint every day of my life and wouldn't be caught in public in WHITES, They look too much like prison uniforms, but you have at least 1 valid suggestion. The public/customer would prefer at least initially, to get a sense that the painter isn't sloppy. The notion is basically not at all related to the quality of work, but as much related too OOOPS as anything. Geez I have great looking T shirts and Pants/Jeans I could hang as Art, from wiping paint on them.

No offense but they are not usually designed to be laundered, especially bleached, which would be a waste of bleach anyway.

I have a couple opinions beyond that. First of all a White T shirt might give me an idea of what a color will look like on a wall, and another, which is actually an old tale/phrase..."Never Trust a Painter with a Clean Truck."

Steven Wolf
Just my 2 "sense"

A final. If you've ever been in a convenience store, you might note they are often frequented by contractors/ laborers. No matter the color of the clothing, one can usually tell what they do for a job.

I agree that no one is likely to really know the answer.

My theory has to do with the fact that at one time the majority of paint was just white. With that in mind, white clothes would have shown less splatter and drips.

One reason I can think of is so they can see paint splatters and drips so as not to rub against furniture and such and smear frseh paint on these items. I have included a link that answers the question as answered by the CEO of Painters and Decorating Contractors of America.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/sum...

lol...that's a good question...perhaps that's the whole reason they wear white. So they look like they've been working hard!

easier to clean. BLEACH

cos we do.............

It's funny you asked this question...I have had a guy painting my house for the past several days, and he told me today that he works for some builders that will not let him in the house to do work unless the painters wear white.

I also found this...

"Traditionally, most paint used by house painters was some shade of white. The wearing of white is simply because it does not contrast and show up the paint drops and splatters that are part of the days work. Blue Jean painters look pretty sloppy after a few days of painting, and less likely to be hired."

I would bet no one really knows the answer to your question. Could be that way back when, different trades needed to be identified on large jobs and the painters got white for some reason. However, that could be argued in that someone will say that no other trade is so married to a specific color--I would argue though, that most company plumbers and electricians wear the blue with the small stripes on the shirts.

It will be interesting to see if a professional painter knows why. And, maybe it is just white so the customer can see how versatile the painter is, or maybe say, hey, I like that color there on your knee, can you match it up for me?