Welding Tips and Tricks

I have heard different methods described on this site but so far no one has mentioned acid cleaning to remove the oxidation. I bought some acid cleaner at the welding shop and the instructions said to apply let it sit for 5 min and wash off with water. Weld shortly after to make sure oxidation does start. I find this messy as I am welding on a large frame and can't take it outside. Other than acid wash what is the best procedure to remove the oxidation and clean the base and filler metals.


JWJ

Stainless steel wire brushes work great. Never use a steel wire brush. For cleaning the rods scotchbrite abrasive pads work well.

Those electro-chemical stainless steel weld cleaning guns work great too. I cant really find anything on them but the below article. Several companies make them and they are not terribly expensive. They are usually used for cleaning the discoloration off of SS welds. Well, I discovered that they work great for removing the oxide from the surface of aluminum for welding prep.

If you run the tip across the joint it removes a nice clean line. Then when you weld if you watch carefully you can get the weld to flow right up the the line of oxide and it stops. Makes a nice clean consistent weld.

http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Wel ... ive-599383

Dont tell anyone, its a secret.

I've used AlumaPrep to clean the mill scale (shiny surface) off of aluminum sheet/plate and flat bar. It is messy and i found it to be over kill for the most part. I suppose if it was some sort of super special weld that was being inspected I might re-visit the process just to take that potential problem out of the failure factor. I built a 21' heavy aluminum boat and at first I was meticulously cleaning every single piece. After a while I found a good die grider with a green disc, a stainless steel brush and acetone were all I needed to get good welds.