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Roughly 20,000 workers suffer job-related eye injuries every year in the United States, and up to 90% of those injuries are preventable with the right protective equipment, according to the International Safety Equipment Association. For welders, the single biggest variable in that equation is lens shade. Pick the wrong number and you either risk flash burns or can’t see your puddle well enough to lay a clean bead.
The right shade depends on the welding process, the amperage, and the material. Here’s how to read the chart, what changed in the newest ANSI eye protection standard, and where welders actually learn to make this call on the fly.
What a welding shade number measures
A welding shade (also called a lens shade or DIN rating) is a numeric scale that shows how much visible light a filter lens blocks. Higher numbers block more light. A shade 3 lens still lets in about 14% of visible light. Jump to a shade 4 and that drops to roughly 5%. At the far end of the scale, a shade 13 lens blocks over 99.999% of visible light, according to lens manufacturer WeldItU.
Shade doesn’t just dim the arc. Every certified welding lens also filters ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) radiation, the two wavelengths that cause the most damage. Skip proper shielding and welders risk photokeratitis, commonly called arc eye or welder’s flash, a painful corneal burn that can cause temporary vision loss. Long-term overexposure has also been linked to cataracts and retinal damage.
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OSHA’s welding shade chart, by process and amperage
29 CFR 1910.252 sets the legal minimum shade for each welding and cutting process. These are floors, not targets. Most working welders choose a shade one or two numbers darker than the OSHA minimum for comfort during long production runs.
| Process | Amperage | OSHA Minimum Shade |
|---|---|---|
| Shielded metal arc (stick), 1/16″–1/8″ electrodes | Under 160A | 10 |
| Shielded metal arc (stick), 5/32″–7/32″ electrodes | 160–250A | 12 |
| Shielded metal arc (stick), 1/4″–5/16″ electrodes | 250A+ | 14 |
| Gas metal arc (MIG) / Flux-cored arc (FCAW) | Most ranges | 11 |
| Gas tungsten arc (TIG) | Most ranges | 10 |
| Plasma arc welding | Most ranges | 11 |
| Plasma arc cutting | Under 300A | 8 |
| Plasma arc cutting | 300–400A | 9 |
| Plasma arc cutting | 400–800A | 10 |
| Torch brazing | — | 3 or 4 |
| Oxygen cutting | Under 1″ | 3 or 4 |
| Oxygen cutting | 1″–6″ | 4 or 5 |
| Gas welding | Under 1/8″ | 4 or 5 |
| Gas welding | 1/8″–1/2″ | 5 or 6 |
Every filter lens sold in the U.S. must also meet ANSI/ISEA Z87.1, the consensus standard OSHA references for eye and face protection design and testing.
What changed in ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025
ISEA published an updated edition of Z87.1 in January 2026, replacing the 2020 version that most helmets on the market today are still built to. The revision adds a cross-reference to Z87.62-2021 for protection against blood and bodily fluid exposure, tightens the test criteria for impact resistance and lens haze, and clarifies how dark-state tolerances apply to auto-darkening welding filters, according to ISEA’s release notes. When you’re shopping for a helmet, check the lens markings for the standard year and confirm the shade range printed on the frame matches the process you’re running.
Auto-darkening vs. fixed-shade helmets
Auto-darkening welding helmets have become the default on most job sites and in most training shops, and searches for them run well ahead of any other helmet style. The lens sits at a light shade for setup and switches to your selected dark shade the instant a sensor detects the arc, typically in a fraction of a millisecond. That lets you keep your hood down through tack, strike, and weld instead of flipping it up and down between passes.
Fixed-shade lenses are simpler and cheaper, and some welders still prefer them for dedicated stick welding at a single amperage. But a fixed lens forces you to swap glass or change helmets every time the job changes. For students learning multiple processes in the same shift, an auto-darkening helmet with an adjustable shade range (typically 9 to 13) covers the widest set of tasks without buying multiple lenses.
Matching shade to the job
- Stick welding (SMAW): Shade 10 for lighter electrodes, moving to shade 12-14 as amperage and electrode diameter increase.
- MIG and flux-cored: Shade 10-12 covers most shop and fabrication work; go darker for high-amperage production runs.
- TIG: Shade 8-10 for most currents, since TIG produces a less intense arc than stick or MIG at comparable amperage.
- Plasma cutting: Shade 8-11 depending on amperage, with heavier cuts above 400A requiring the darkest end of that range.
- Oxy-fuel welding, brazing, and cutting: Shade 3-6, far lighter than arc processes, since there’s no electric arc to filter.
Material thickness, welding position, and personal eye sensitivity all shift the ideal shade within these ranges. The standard advice from working welders: start one shade darker than you think you need, then back off until you can see the puddle clearly without going below the OSHA minimum.
Beyond the lens: full welding PPE
Shade selection is one piece of a larger PPE picture. A complete welding safety setup also includes flame-resistant clothing, leather gloves rated for the process, and, depending on the environment, respiratory protection from weld fumes. Our guides on choosing a welding helmet and head and eye protection for welders cover fit, comfort, and the features worth paying for. For a broader rundown of shop safety habits, see our welding safety tips guide, and if you’re still deciding which process to learn first, our guide to welding types breaks down MIG, TIG, stick, and flux-core side by side.
Where welders actually learn to make this call
Reading a shade chart is one thing. Recognizing the right lens setting mid-shift, on a real machine, under a real hood, is another. That’s the gap hands-on training closes. At Tulsa Welding School, PPE and shade selection aren’t a single lecture. Instructors cover it the same way a shop foreman would: repeatedly, on the equipment you’ll actually use, across the processes you’ll actually run.
TWS trains students across five welding-focused programs, from a foundational Professional Welding track to combined welding and pipefitting training, an Associate of Occupational Studies in Welding Technology, and an Associate in Applied Science in Welding Inspection for graduates who want to move from the booth into quality control. Programs run as few as seven months, with day and evening schedules built around students who are working or managing a family while they train.
Start training in as few as 7 months
If you’re ready to move past reading charts and start running a bead under proper supervision, TWS trains welders at campuses in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida.
Request more information to talk to admissions about program length and start dates, or schedule a campus tour to see the welding bays in person. Scholarships, grants, and military tuition benefits are available for students who qualify. Check the scholarship explorer to see what you may be eligible for before you apply.
