Welding and Materials

[mickmate]

We covered that thanks Dom. We clean aluminum with a stainless wire brush that is only used for aluminum. The weld looks dirty as they make a lot of soot. The photo is after weld with no cleaning though the soot comes off easily.

[Aussie Mike]

The pic of mine was after a quick scrub with a wire brush. The soot looks nasty but comes off easy. Welding aluminium also makes a lot of smoke too. Definitly a job to be done in a well ventilated workshop.

I usually keep to a fairly sheltered spot when welding as I'm a bit cheap and try to keep my shielding gas uses to a minimum. When I'm finished I open up the doors and turn a fan on to clear the air. I'll often wair my spray painting respirator under my welding helmet as well.

Cheers

[Dominik]

hi Nick,

okay: I try another one.
when working with stainless (welding as well), never use tools that have been used with mild steel.
stainless will attract the rust from mild steel and start to corrode.

after welding stainless clean the heat affected zone generously at least with distilled water or better yet with a suitable cleaning agent.

otherwise you will get rust close to where you welded and not only at the weld!

dominik