I did these cleaning procedures the other day, my boss asked me to weld my first aluminum piece for him, and he was really surprised why my work looked so clean and didn’t have the contaminants in it. Hopefully I’ll be doing much more aluminim work here soon because of it.
I'm welding ally brackets for lotus cars. They can't find anyone else who can do it at the moment and the numbers they want mean I don't have time to prep (clean) properly.
I'm a machinist with a strong welding background. My old welding mentor emphasized stainless steel brushes (hand or rotary) to be dedicated to final clean-up for welding aluminum should start new and never be used for any other purpose like stripping paint, parts cleaning, etc. Further, your aluminum brushes should always be kept in your posession, protected from contamination, and demote them to lesser duty when their cleaming capacity fades. "Treat them like your toothbrush!" he said.
I need to thank you since your stick welding lesson in Texas. I asked why my forearm started getting little electric shocks while using the tig torch. You said to check for a split in the insulation near the torch and don't hang it at a steep angle when resting it. Following up conversation with , "I'm shure of it" when I got home out came the razor blade and peeling back the protective cover a split appeared with a shiny copper cable. I know it just seems common sense but no one else would take my question seriously. You probably saved me from a major jolt and I'm grateful. Again a Big Thanks!!!
After about a month I have successfully taught myself how to weld thin wall aluminum. Specifically intercooler piping. Your videos have helped immensely. WHEN YOU THINK THE ALUMINUM IS CLEAN ENOUGH, CLEAN IT AGAIN!! Also clean your filler. Thin aluminum is very sensitive to contamination. I learned using an AHP-201XD. Good luck to everyone learning.
Great video! I majored in Welding Technology at a junior college way back in 1972 - we learned to weld aluminum with oxy-acetylene, arc, TIG, and MIG, and in every one, the most important factor was cleaning off the Aluminum Oxide with a dedicated Stainless Steel brush - it takes some time, but the results are worth every second of preparation. I've also found that if you pre-heat the pieces a little with a propane torch or something, the Oxide is much easier to remove - you can actually feel the brush dig in instead of sliding across the Oxide.
Great Video! I weld in Aerospace. I go as far as to clean the backsides of the parent metals if I can. Also, I use scotch Brite and a following up with acetone wipe on my Filler Rods. Also, take a look at your welding gloves... they are the LAST thing to "touch" the filler rod before it goes into the molten puddle...if they are dirty, so will your weld!
I’ve been going back and forth this whole time getting so frustrated with aluminum! I will try just pulling tomorrow and report back! Thank you so much!!!
I'm not a welder, but I am a diesel mechanic that does a considerable amount of welding. All our feed trailers (we're agriculture) and livestock trailers are aluminum which is always my biggest battle to repair due to the acidity of the animal feces penetrating deep in the metal on the live haul trailers, and the abuse and lack of cleanliness of the feed trailers. You can't do enough of these aluminum welding videos. I'm fully self taught minus what tidbits the old timers have given me here and there so these videos you do have been a God send. Thank you and keep up the good work!
@@Sicktrickintuner thank you for the input. Unfortunately that's about what I do now, clean the pants off of it, weld, grind, repeat. While this video will make me change a few habits (using wire wheel on a regular grinder doing full speed) I am very anal on my welds and I'd like to cut down time for repairs and still come out with great looking welds. Any thoughts on using aluma bright wheel cleaner (an acid based cleaner for aluminum rims) before doing a weld? Our shop doesn't allow chemicals not on our company MSDS sheet, but I'm sure if something like this would work a small container would go unnoticed for the most part. Thanks again man!
On the last pass the contamination you're showing does not come from the filler rod, but from the root of your weld. Whereas all of the surrounding area is clean, there is still plenty of contaminants in the root where the two parts meet. The alox and other contaminants are being pulled up from the root by the cleaning action of the ac arc and deposited on your clean filler rod. (Filler rod not being older than 6 months, handled properly.) This occurs when you first tack and then clean your parts, whereas you should first clean, brush, clean again and then tack. I've been welding aluminium for the bigger part of the last 10 years and have made the same mistake many a times before realising where the contamination originated from. You're never to old to learn, and I've learned a lot from your video's over time, thanks!
Shjefke.23 I do the same thing when doing certain soldering tasks in EE, clean, wire, clean. If you don’t clean after you wire you get that gunk particles back on the weld and especially so if the metal is porous as wiring it now exposed all that gunk down in the pores. Also make sure to always clean before wiring too as this removes the bulk so it doesn’t get pushed into the pores. All metal especially aluminum has pores. Whether this is pitting, corrosion, pores, defects, or even the grain boundaries of the metal, any which way it will have it and it will cause problems. Your suggestion is the only way to do it!
Weld.com no you didn't. He is saying the material in the root never got cleaned which is a big no no. You have to clean the material before tacking it together. You dont think that aluminum oxide and oil directly under your weld in the root is not effecting your weld? You clearly tacked together your pieces then proceeded to clean material. All that oxide you tried to clean off also gets wedged into the joint.
@@mountain_ginger Exactly the point I wanted to make! @weld.com You're never too good or too old to learn from your mistakes. I found your comment condescending so I didn't reply initially, felt no need to waste energy on useless pursuits.
All your advice here is spot on but onenote for your followers that I think you could have mentioned is while you have the crud in between that lapped surface cleaning that surface is critical as well. of course in a repair scenario pulling the two surfaces isn't always possible.
What I do is to use acetone first. Then I brush it, and I use acetone again to remove those microscopic particles produced from the brushing. That does make a big difference difference. And some manufacturers produce really dirty rods, from the drawing oil, or something, I guess. But others are much cleaner.
Nice presentation on cleaning aluminum before welding. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Cleaning the filler rod is the same for sweating copper pipe. Not only do you have to clean the copper pipe and fittings, you need to make sure you have your filler soldiers surface clan too. Something a lot of newbee and old lazy plumbers just refuse to admit to doing. Keep the videos coming too
Absolutely agree with you 100% . I weld Aluminum everyday and prep is everything. The only issue is that getting most employers to understand that concept. The only thing it seems they are concerned about is how fast it can be done but what they don't seem to realize is that you're sacrificing the quality and strength of it by cutting corners . I argue this issue all the time. How can you make someone understand that concept?
@Chris Bostrom You know I thought about not responding to the comment but since you seem to need an education I feel like I have to help you understand so someone else who might be watching this doesn't actually believe your ignorance. Aluminum is one of the biggest alloys used in the Aerospace and Automotive industry's ! How much more structural can you get! I hope someone like your self isn't working on the plane or auto that I put my family in. Might give it some thought before you post something that you obviously know nothing about. 😁
@Chris Bostrom I really dont have time to argue but you obviously need help understanding that your wrong Aluminum is used in turbines Aerospace frames and Bridges and car frames. Because of its heat and strength properties not to mention it weight to strength ratio. Also used armor plate which I installed in several military vehicles that save countless lives from IEDs! ( Improvised Explosive Devices) for those that don't know. Take your ball back home and cry to mama snowflake...
@Chris Bostrom It is all about the engineering and the people who do the work. If anyone else reads these comments remember. Anything you do in life is worth doing right you never know when someone's life may depend on it. I take my job very seriously because I have seen first hand at what cutting corners can cause.
@Chris Bostrom also axles used in higher stress conditions are made of aluminum in racing applications to cut down on weight and are stronger.... OEM axles are made of steel to cut down costs!
Thanks, That was one of the most informative clips iv'e seen for this common problem, and the results for NOT doing it properly in the first place. Great information for everyone.
A big thank you to all the welders posting in the comments section of these forums. I know you like to share your experience and I'm sure others profit from it.
A Scotch Bright pad on the filler rod followed be Acetone works very well.....you can also see the puddle doesn't wet out correctly with poor cleaning....I love welding Aluminum when everything is squeaky clean! Great welding info...thanks!
Jody from welding tips and tricks had a cool video back a couple weeks ago I think where he is welding some al pipe and shows a shot of the inside where welds over a scratch in the pipe and it was so cool seeing the oxide rise and fall without disturbing the scratch. Made me think of that when you talked about blowing a hole through your material.
Excellent video ! Concise and right to the point , explains exactly what i was missing . Can't thank you enough ! Pepper is for eggs not aluminum welds! Thanks again .
Nice video. Aluminum oxide layer regenerates in a split seconds so removing it is only cleaning. Still need the AC electrode Positive to break through it. If it were removed there would be no need to AC weld it, and straight DC would work since there is nothing to remove to get to the aluminium.
Darn it!! Just when I'm trying to wean myself off welding videos, now I find this website! The best, most succinct and informative explanations and by far the best video footage of the lot. Therapy, I need therapy!
Thanks i learned something i went in both directions now i won't do that again no one wants to teach me were i work your input is well appreciated for sure will help me get my welds where i want them. I'm gonna go back to welding school another year cause, my job refuses to teach me willingly hiw to fabricate but, this tips you just can't learn in school thanks for the willingness to help others i owe you a det of graduate of that one.
Damn, this is bar far the best video for starters like me. Blowing through and the contaminates sitting on top was super frustrating. This helped a ton!!!
Awesome video Red beard, surely we all understand we're talking about surface prep and I know you had it in the T joint configuration it very important to clean the surface prior to fill up .… as this is the only way to ensure the zone of penetration is free of contaminants as well .. cleaning Our filler metal Will never be a waste of time the opposite is true! even for the smallest weld repair a clean filler metal makes it all flow.. I personally like to scotch bright all my tig rods ... But I also cut my rods in half too .... awesome content love the channel Peace
Excellent advice. I would add one thing. When using the angle grinder with the wire wheel, a light touch is needed as aluminum is softer than mild steel.
Since I posted this, I have shifted to using a 3" diameter abrasive pad on a battery powered angle drill. The grit on the pad is listed as "fine", so I think that the grit is in the 200 to 300 range. It works quite well. I still use the SS brush when cleaning up around tack welds. I also wipe with acetone after brushing/cleaning. Also, with the wire wheels there are wheels available with finer gauge wire that are not as aggressive. I have used these and they work quite well.
Wow, Thanks, I am welding on old pontoon boat and they usually sit in saltwater for 200+ days a year. It is hell getting it clean. The bad part is that after cleaning the metal, there is not much of the metal left. Up till now, I have been pressure washing & scrapping incrustations off. Then propane torch to cook out the salts, alkali wash, force air dry, and wire brush. I never thought about the way I brushed it off. I will definitely try your way and see how it turns out. Thanks a bunch. If you can do a video on how to remove salt out of porous old aluminum, that would be great, because I am in hell right now. I am getting pontoons with dozens of 1-inch holes at the waterline and the pontoons are beaten to hell. Thanks again P.S. the pontoon boats are used to build docks and that is where all the holes/dents come from.
Great tips! thanks, Some people also recommend cleaning your rods as well. I noticed they are oxidized and add a bit of contaminant in as you go. maybe its too little to worry about but it might even give a cleaner weld...cheers
More of these kind of formats are great. Other ones like what does it look like when you have an air leak in your argon line. Rules of thumb for Tungsten types, and size of tungsten, cup sizes.
great information, but u noticed your filler rod was introducing contaminates into your pool . but what about cleaning with the wire wheel like you did then giving one last wipe down wiht acetone before welding ?
Try fixing a caplight or clip-on headlamp to your helmet and use a cheater lens or magnifier inside. These will make a huge difference in seeing your welds!
Another great video dude! I don’t do too much aluminum but the stuff I have done has been full of the oxide contamination you pointed out in this video. Thank you for the great work!!
Excellent arc shots and very nice explanation. I'm definitely going to use this method next time. I guess I've been my own worst enemy while I'm cleaning the part!
I use the die grinder to clean the surface of the weld joint to. Do a lot of repair work on old aluminum boats. Sometimes lite scuff with my saw blade to get nice shiny material under surface.
Haven't done much welding of aluminum, is it neccesary to clean off your filler rods as well before welding? oops should have watched the video to the end before commenting, you answered my question Redbeard, thanks.
As a rule of TIG, you always wipe the rods and metal down, regardless of the material, titanium, aluminium, stainless, mild steel, it's just good practice
@@JoshuaNicollI never got much time in on tig welding in general unfortunately, it's a skill set I never really have had the oppurtunity to work on but would like to
Mike Mc Clune I would say, yes, it is necessary to ensure that everything, including your filler metal, is as clean as possible. This also goes for stainless as well
@Chris Bostrom I mean if you're just taking the piss out of keeping your Aluminium clean.. go weld some dirty shit, it'll be brittle. Also I have an aluminium car trailer, you can't expect me to just weld right over all the dust/rust/paint and oxide like I would if I was stick welding a dump trailer at work lmao it's not like we're all pipe or construction guys..
I find that using an air sander with 120 grit to take off all oxides before I even put pieces im gonna weld together. Wipe it with acetone. Then place my pieces im welding together clamped together, then I wire brush, and then follow up with another wipe of acetone. Then I get a micro fiber rag, and put acetone on it and wipe all of my welding wire itself. You'd be blown away at how filthy welding rod is. Usually you'll know aluminum is clean when you go to put your torch near it and you can see a dim reflection. The more mirror like the work piece is the better your weld. Also. Lighting up, focus your heat as close to the tack spot as possible and sit on it. Sit on it until you develope the size bead your wanting to weld, and then dab until that puddle sucks it in and when it does, then proceed forward before adding your next amount of filler. If you can get a small Cresent in yournpuffle before progressing then you'll have much wetter and better spaced beads that are penetrative. You're not welding the top of the material, you're welding the back of it.
What I love the most to clean aluminum and save time is to use a paint-stripping wheel (norton rapid strip) and scotch brite on the filler just before I use an acetone wipe. Obviously- that’s when it’s not grease and/or oil soaked of course.....
Aaron from 6061 here on Utube uses a stainless wire brush back and forth...no floaters and absolutely beautiful welds. Looks like you just brushed back and forth and did not blow off the residue.
thats what i was thinking about to, you have something like welding penetration in the materials. if you stack your materials before cleaning them on all welding sides. you will always have contamination. i always use a powerfile, clean these materials on all sides then put them in weldposition en start welding. but old aluminium stays a bitch to weld. i'm a welder for more then 25 years
I always like watching your videos I truly believe you’re one of the better guys out there doing the tutorials I’m in there’s a lot of the good guys out there I mean you know can we say the fabricator Siri‘s anyway there’s lotta good guys out there I really enjoy them anyways thank you for what you do but I noticed you didn’t use acetone or or anything when you took that slower grinder variable speed grinder with the wire wheel on it and it still turned out good anyhow this is a Jim mungai From Kennerdell PA I have a dynasty 210 DX welder you have a good day thank you again
Thank you. I love welding with Tig. And I love welding aluminum. I usually use the stainless steel brush. I never knew the variable speed Granger's existed don't go out and buy one.
The hard wheels designed for aluminum and then file it work wonders getting abrasive and such out of an area after grinding, chisels even work for scraping (more of a pull using the corner)
i can see the problem with the last weld done after the stainless steel electric wire brush, we could see the oxide coming off the actual filler rod itself. Didnt you clean the filler rod too?
Thanks for the video! Question for you guys: Does the Stainless wheel/brush cause any long term corrosion issues when using it to prep aluminium? I work on aircraft and we are strictly prohibited from using stainless products like wire wheels or brushes on aluminium to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion from occuring from small bits of stainless getting embedded in the aluminium.
I'm not an ally welder but, wouldn't a straight bristle wire wheel be better than a twist knot? They tend to not dig in as much and give you a clean more like the hand held brush, just thought it might be worth mentioning.
One thing not mentioned that works well for outside corner joints on aluminum is to use a file to clean the edges rather than a brush. I use a dedicated aluminum-only mill file, used in one direction only like you did with the handheld brush, and it puts a super clean edge on outside corners. Other than cleaning filler wire with acetone, which seems to often remove an oily substance I suspect is from the forming process, is there a way to clean oxide off the filler wire?
What’s your thoughts on cleaning with acid? From my experience, acid seems to help on older dirty metal with a lot of oxidation....but not good on newer material with light oxidation. Like those tubes in your video, I would have taken them to the sink, sprayed with acid for 30 seconds, rinsed, dried, then only half as much work with the wire brush is needed. I understand acid may not be an option on some projects. I did learn something on brush strokes so great video. Just wanted to add to the conversation and get your thoughts. Keep them coming.
Ron Platt same here. I use alumabright or something similar on older dirty material. But on relatively new material the acid cleaning seems to make the arc wonder more and the dimes don’t stack as nice. Have you experienced that? I realize the new technology in the inverter machines will clean well enough so it’s not crucial that you clean every piece of material, but all alum will oxidize quickly and the cleaner the material, the better things are supposed to work. Really I’m just bored and making conversation. 😜
@@harrillwiggins1375 I don't have a new machine, using a 1980 airco 300amp welder set up for tig or stick. I have to clean the metal very good before hand. Yes, I don't use the acid on new aluminum, just brush and clean with acetone.
Great video! I did a lot of aluminum back in the day and learned something new - thanks.Jody at welding tips and tricks did a video on doing aluminum (very think) on DC with a Helium mix. I would love to see more on this technique if you ever got the time. Cleanliness was everything since you are not using AC. Looked like a great way to do heavy material where AC just can't punch through or you don't have a heavy duty machine. Thanks again!
Oxides /simple answer! I like to push the tip of brush awards the direction of weld travel plus some clean air,take a break and oxides are back ,that dirty Air we are breathing
I use scotch bright surface flapper wheels on all my aluminum swiping in one direction.. I prep it all before tacking it up, seems to be the best method I have tried yet.. I do high end production on 6061T6 so I dont have time to wire brush joints and those stainless wheels on a 4" grinder can hop up and bite you really easy.. I have been using the flapper method for years now. I acetone before and after buffing off the oxide layer..
im just starting out and I was trying to form a puddle with the torch (no filler) and I noticed the oxide layer wouldn't go away, then the aluminum would blow out like you said.. ill try cleaning the hell out of it and see if that helps
Whitewolf the blasting media stays in the surface even after ultrasonic wash acetone and wire brush, we tried it and did not get it to work for our purposes. We do aluminum thermo form molds
Sounds great! Have to watch out for oil and water carried along with the compressed air is all. If your shop air is dry, this should be about as good as it gets.
Yes my air is quite dry and clean. The only thing that I don't like is that bead blasting something large gets the fine glass all over, (my cabinet is very small)! Never have tried blasting before welding, just never occurred to me to try it.
Good video and camera shots. Correct name for the "pepper" and impurities on the surface is dross. The techniques and examples shown are excellent. As soon as you think the aluminum is clean enough...…...do it again! LOL. Well done Redbeard!
I did these cleaning procedures the other day, my boss asked me to weld my first aluminum piece for him, and he was really surprised why my work looked so clean and didn’t have the contaminants in it. Hopefully I’ll be doing much more aluminim work here soon because of it.
Yeh just dont let him know about the additional time spent prepping.
@@Neishy4AGTE good advice 👍🤣
I'm welding ally brackets for lotus cars. They can't find anyone else who can do it at the moment and the numbers they want mean I don't have time to prep (clean) properly.
I'm a machinist with a strong welding background. My old welding mentor emphasized stainless steel brushes (hand or rotary) to be dedicated to final clean-up for welding aluminum should start new and never be used for any other purpose like stripping paint, parts cleaning, etc. Further, your aluminum brushes should always be kept in your posession, protected from contamination, and demote them to lesser duty when their cleaming capacity fades. "Treat them like your toothbrush!" he said.
I need to thank you since your stick welding lesson in Texas.
I asked why my forearm started getting little electric shocks while using the tig torch. You said to check for a split in the insulation near the torch and don't hang it at a steep angle when resting it. Following up conversation with , "I'm shure of it" when I got home out came the razor blade and peeling back the protective cover a split appeared with a shiny copper cable. I know it just seems common sense but no one else would take my question seriously. You probably saved me from a major jolt and I'm grateful. Again a Big Thanks!!!
Glad we were able to help you out. Stay safe.
After about a month I have successfully taught myself how to weld thin wall aluminum. Specifically intercooler piping. Your videos have helped immensely. WHEN YOU THINK THE ALUMINUM IS CLEAN ENOUGH, CLEAN IT AGAIN!! Also clean your filler. Thin aluminum is very sensitive to contamination. I learned using an AHP-201XD. Good luck to everyone learning.
Great video! I majored in Welding Technology at a junior college way back in 1972 - we learned to weld aluminum with oxy-acetylene, arc, TIG, and MIG, and in every one, the most important factor was cleaning off the Aluminum Oxide with a dedicated Stainless Steel brush - it takes some time, but the results are worth every second of preparation. I've also found that if you pre-heat the pieces a little with a propane torch or something, the Oxide is much easier to remove - you can actually feel the brush dig in instead of sliding across the Oxide.
Great Video! I weld in Aerospace. I go as far as to clean the backsides of the parent metals if I can. Also, I use scotch Brite and a following up with acetone wipe on my Filler Rods. Also, take a look at your welding gloves... they are the LAST thing to "touch" the filler rod before it goes into the molten puddle...if they are dirty, so will your weld!
I never thought about that, mine are kinda clean and I don't use old ones, but I have always used fresh SS brushes
I’ve been going back and forth this whole time getting so frustrated with aluminum! I will try just pulling tomorrow and report back! Thank you so much!!!
really appreciate the clarity of your images whilst welding, so helpfull to see what you're shooting for. Great job mr camera man
I'm not a welder, but I am a diesel mechanic that does a considerable amount of welding. All our feed trailers (we're agriculture) and livestock trailers are aluminum which is always my biggest battle to repair due to the acidity of the animal feces penetrating deep in the metal on the live haul trailers, and the abuse and lack of cleanliness of the feed trailers. You can't do enough of these aluminum welding videos. I'm fully self taught minus what tidbits the old timers have given me here and there so these videos you do have been a God send. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Jedediah Hoffman
Only way with contamination, is carbide burr and weld again.
Had oil soaked castings i have had to weld multiple times.
@@Sicktrickintuner thank you for the input. Unfortunately that's about what I do now, clean the pants off of it, weld, grind, repeat. While this video will make me change a few habits (using wire wheel on a regular grinder doing full speed) I am very anal on my welds and I'd like to cut down time for repairs and still come out with great looking welds. Any thoughts on using aluma bright wheel cleaner (an acid based cleaner for aluminum rims) before doing a weld? Our shop doesn't allow chemicals not on our company MSDS sheet, but I'm sure if something like this would work a small container would go unnoticed for the most part. Thanks again man!
On the last pass the contamination you're showing does not come from the filler rod, but from the root of your weld. Whereas all of the surrounding area is clean, there is still plenty of contaminants in the root where the two parts meet. The alox and other contaminants are being pulled up from the root by the cleaning action of the ac arc and deposited on your clean filler rod. (Filler rod not being older than 6 months, handled properly.)
This occurs when you first tack and then clean your parts, whereas you should first clean, brush, clean again and then tack. I've been welding aluminium for the bigger part of the last 10 years and have made the same mistake many a times before realising where the contamination originated from.
You're never to old to learn, and I've learned a lot from your video's over time, thanks!
Shjefke.23 I do the same thing when doing certain soldering tasks in EE, clean, wire, clean. If you don’t clean after you wire you get that gunk particles back on the weld and especially so if the metal is porous as wiring it now exposed all that gunk down in the pores. Also make sure to always clean before wiring too as this removes the bulk so it doesn’t get pushed into the pores. All metal especially aluminum has pores. Whether this is pitting, corrosion, pores, defects, or even the grain boundaries of the metal, any which way it will have it and it will cause problems. Your suggestion is the only way to do it!
The bottom of the material was cleaned 100% for each weld.
Weld.com no you didn't. He is saying the material in the root never got cleaned which is a big no no. You have to clean the material before tacking it together. You dont think that aluminum oxide and oil directly under your weld in the root is not effecting your weld? You clearly tacked together your pieces then proceeded to clean material. All that oxide you tried to clean off also gets wedged into the joint.
Daniel Thornton Exactly.
@@mountain_ginger Exactly the point I wanted to make!
@weld.com You're never too good or too old to learn from your mistakes. I found your comment condescending so I didn't reply initially, felt no need to waste energy on useless pursuits.
All your advice here is spot on but onenote for your followers that I think you could have mentioned is while you have the crud in between that lapped surface cleaning that surface is critical as well. of course in a repair scenario pulling the two surfaces isn't always possible.
What I do is to use acetone first. Then I brush it, and I use acetone again to remove those microscopic particles produced from the brushing. That does make a big difference difference. And some manufacturers produce really dirty rods, from the drawing oil, or something, I guess. But others are much cleaner.
Nice presentation on cleaning aluminum before welding. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Cleaning the filler rod is the same for sweating copper pipe. Not only do you have to clean the copper pipe and fittings, you need to make sure you have your filler soldiers surface clan too. Something a lot of newbee and old lazy plumbers just refuse to admit to doing. Keep the videos coming too
Absolutely agree with you 100% . I weld Aluminum everyday and prep is everything. The only issue is that getting most employers to understand that concept. The only thing it seems they are concerned about is how fast it can be done but what they don't seem to realize is that you're sacrificing the quality and strength of it by cutting corners . I argue this issue all the time. How can you make someone understand that concept?
@Chris Bostrom You know I thought about not responding to the comment but since you seem to need an education I feel like I have to help you understand so someone else who might be watching this doesn't actually believe your ignorance. Aluminum is one of the biggest alloys used in the Aerospace and Automotive industry's ! How much more structural can you get! I hope someone like your self isn't working on the plane or auto that I put my family in. Might give it some thought before you post something that you obviously know nothing about. 😁
@Chris Bostrom I really dont have time to argue but you obviously need help understanding that your wrong Aluminum is used in turbines Aerospace frames and Bridges and car frames. Because of its heat and strength properties not to mention it weight to strength ratio. Also used armor plate which I installed in several military vehicles that save countless lives from IEDs! ( Improvised Explosive Devices) for those that don't know. Take your ball back home and cry to mama snowflake...
@Chris Bostrom It is all about the engineering and the people who do the work. If anyone else reads these comments remember. Anything you do in life is worth doing right you never know when someone's life may depend on it. I take my job very seriously because I have seen first hand at what cutting corners can cause.
Jet turbines spin around 10,000 to 25,000 rpm for most commercial planes but some military jets spin up to 500,000 rpms . I'm prepping my materials.
@Chris Bostrom also axles used in higher stress conditions are made of aluminum in racing applications to cut down on weight and are stronger.... OEM axles are made of steel to cut down costs!
Thanks, That was one of the most informative clips iv'e seen for this common problem, and the results for NOT doing it properly in the first place. Great information for everyone.
Thanks for the reminder, cant be to clean. I really like this vid. Fast-talking, no bullshit! Great testing info!
A big thank you to all the welders posting in the comments section of these forums. I know you like to share your experience and I'm sure others profit from it.
A Scotch Bright pad on the filler rod followed be Acetone works very well.....you can also see the puddle doesn't wet out correctly with poor cleaning....I love welding Aluminum when everything is squeaky clean!
Great welding info...thanks!
Possibly acetone before as well, keep the oils out of the ScotchBrite?
This was incredibly educational! I love the very professional way you are explaining and doing and filming everything. Thanks Master.
Jody from welding tips and tricks had a cool video back a couple weeks ago I think where he is welding some al pipe and shows a shot of the inside where welds over a scratch in the pipe and it was so cool seeing the oxide rise and fall without disturbing the scratch. Made me think of that when you talked about blowing a hole through your material.
Thank you for this video. Best explanation on how to clean Aluminum I have seen.
Excellent video ! Concise and right to the point , explains exactly what i was missing . Can't thank you enough ! Pepper is for eggs not aluminum welds! Thanks again .
Nice video. Aluminum oxide layer regenerates in a split seconds so removing it is only cleaning. Still need the AC electrode Positive to break through it. If it were removed there would be no need to AC weld it, and straight DC would work since there is nothing to remove to get to the aluminium.
I have a variable polisher with a stainless wheel on it. Works well .
Darn it!! Just when I'm trying to wean myself off welding videos, now I find this website! The best, most succinct and informative explanations and by far the best video footage of the lot.
Therapy, I need therapy!
Seen better
Wipe down the rods is huge definitely see the crud burning off on the rod in the last weld. Great video!
Thanks i learned something i went in both directions now i won't do that again no one wants to teach me were i work your input is well appreciated for sure will help me get my welds where i want them. I'm gonna go back to welding school another year cause, my job refuses to teach me willingly hiw to fabricate but, this tips you just can't learn in school thanks for the willingness to help others i owe you a det of graduate of that one.
Damn, this is bar far the best video for starters like me. Blowing through and the contaminates sitting on top was super frustrating. This helped a ton!!!
Awesome video Red beard, surely we all understand we're talking about surface prep and I know you had it in the T joint configuration it very important to clean the surface prior to fill up .… as this is the only way to ensure the zone of penetration is free of contaminants as well .. cleaning Our filler metal Will never be a waste of time the opposite is true! even for the smallest weld repair a clean filler metal makes it all flow.. I personally like to scotch bright all my tig rods ... But I also cut my rods in half too .... awesome content love the channel
Peace
Excellent advice. I would add one thing. When using the angle grinder with the wire wheel, a light touch is needed as aluminum is softer than mild steel.
Since I posted this, I have shifted to using a 3" diameter abrasive pad on a battery powered angle drill. The grit on the pad is listed as "fine", so I think that the grit is in the 200 to 300 range. It works quite well. I still use the SS brush when cleaning up around tack welds. I also wipe with acetone after brushing/cleaning.
Also, with the wire wheels there are wheels available with finer gauge wire that are not as aggressive. I have used these and they work quite well.
Brilliant!, not the metal, YOU! best advice I've got yet. Thank you from New Zealand.
Wow huge difference when I did the cleaning. Many thanks for the tip!
Wow, Thanks, I am welding on old pontoon boat and they usually sit in saltwater for 200+ days a year. It is hell getting it clean. The bad part is that after cleaning the metal, there is not much of the metal left. Up till now, I have been pressure washing & scrapping incrustations off. Then propane torch to cook out the salts, alkali wash, force air dry, and wire brush. I never thought about the way I brushed it off. I will definitely try your way and see how it turns out. Thanks a bunch.
If you can do a video on how to remove salt out of porous old aluminum, that would be great, because I am in hell right now. I am getting pontoons with dozens of 1-inch holes at the waterline and the pontoons are beaten to hell. Thanks again
P.S. the pontoon boats are used to build docks and that is where all the holes/dents come from.
Great tips! thanks, Some people also recommend cleaning your rods as well. I noticed they are oxidized and add a bit of contaminant in as you go. maybe its too little to worry about but it might even give a cleaner weld...cheers
More of these kind of formats are great. Other ones like what does it look like when you have an air leak in your argon line. Rules of thumb for Tungsten types, and size of tungsten, cup sizes.
Thank you for not starting your videos with 10 minutes of bullshit about yourself etc. right to the point. Great video
Great close up arc shots!
great information, but u noticed your filler rod was introducing contaminates into your pool . but what about cleaning with the wire wheel like you did then giving one last wipe down wiht acetone before welding ?
Incredible cinematography! I wish my welding looked like that in real life through my welding helmet lens!!
Try fixing a caplight or clip-on headlamp to your helmet and use a cheater lens or magnifier inside. These will make a huge difference in seeing your welds!
thats some awesome arc shots :)
however i wish you had done some with a flapper wheel as thats a very common one as well.
Another great video dude! I don’t do too much aluminum but the stuff I have done has been full of the oxide contamination you pointed out in this video.
Thank you for the great work!!
Was just about to comment on the filler metal.Thought i was going to be able to get you on that.
Ss Pp literally right after I finished reading your comment he mentioned it 😂
Lots of great new things I have not heard or shown and have watch many tig aluminum videos
Excellent arc shots and very nice explanation. I'm definitely going to use this method next time. I guess I've been my own worst enemy while I'm cleaning the part!
i see when your filler is out of argon shield your contaming the pool great video shots Thank you this is help me understand what I'm doing wrong
I use the die grinder to clean the surface of the weld joint to. Do a lot of repair work on old aluminum boats. Sometimes lite scuff with my saw blade to get nice shiny material under surface.
Excellent video with good straightforward advice.
Oxide layer was wider on the last weld. Did you turn up the balance on that one?
Does the acetone apply for carbon tig processes as well?
I don't know why but I think it's just my brain saying "not yet, not yet", and you keep adding that filler rod every time it's not yet the time 😂
Love my new ISOTunes!!!!! Rock on!!!
Y'all need to do a self dumping crawfish boiler.
you could do this along with scotchbright and acetone on your filler for extra clean welds
I learned so much in one short fantastic video thank you!
Haven't done much welding of aluminum, is it neccesary to clean off your filler rods as well before welding?
oops should have watched the video to the end before commenting, you answered my question Redbeard, thanks.
As a rule of TIG, you always wipe the rods and metal down, regardless of the material, titanium, aluminium, stainless, mild steel, it's just good practice
@@JoshuaNicollI never got much time in on tig welding in general unfortunately, it's a skill set I never really have had the oppurtunity to work on but would like to
Mike Mc Clune I would say, yes, it is necessary to ensure that everything, including your filler metal, is as clean as possible. This also goes for stainless as well
@Chris Bostrom so it doesn't weld like 2 nasty puddles next to each other that just turn into ugly gobs if you try to push filler in, I'd guess
@Chris Bostrom I mean if you're just taking the piss out of keeping your Aluminium clean.. go weld some dirty shit, it'll be brittle.
Also I have an aluminium car trailer, you can't expect me to just weld right over all the dust/rust/paint and oxide like I would if I was stick welding a dump trailer at work lmao
it's not like we're all pipe or construction guys..
I find that using an air sander with 120 grit to take off all oxides before I even put pieces im gonna weld together. Wipe it with acetone. Then place my pieces im welding together clamped together, then I wire brush, and then follow up with another wipe of acetone. Then I get a micro fiber rag, and put acetone on it and wipe all of my welding wire itself. You'd be blown away at how filthy welding rod is. Usually you'll know aluminum is clean when you go to put your torch near it and you can see a dim reflection. The more mirror like the work piece is the better your weld. Also. Lighting up, focus your heat as close to the tack spot as possible and sit on it. Sit on it until you develope the size bead your wanting to weld, and then dab until that puddle sucks it in and when it does, then proceed forward before adding your next amount of filler. If you can get a small Cresent in yournpuffle before progressing then you'll have much wetter and better spaced beads that are penetrative. You're not welding the top of the material, you're welding the back of it.
Tight work man. Detailed information, Nice video. Mike west borrowed phone.
Nice footage!
Agreed BOb. Are you "weld . com Bob"? Hope you are well whoever you are.
The very best video on this subject! Thank you.
What I love the most to clean aluminum and save time is to use a paint-stripping wheel (norton rapid strip) and scotch brite on the filler just before I use an acetone wipe. Obviously- that’s when it’s not grease and/or oil soaked of course.....
Aaron from 6061 here on Utube uses a stainless wire brush back and forth...no floaters and absolutely beautiful welds. Looks like you just brushed back and forth and did not blow off the residue.
Try and clean in between your pieces to..like u said, the heat pulls out the contaminants
thats what i was thinking about to, you have something like welding penetration in the materials.
if you stack your materials before cleaning them on all welding sides. you will always have contamination.
i always use a powerfile, clean these materials on all sides then put them in weldposition en start welding.
but old aluminium stays a bitch to weld. i'm a welder for more then 25 years
WOW, great teacher. Thank you
I always like watching your videos I truly believe you’re one of the better guys out there doing the tutorials I’m in there’s a lot of the good guys out there I mean you know can we say the fabricator Siri‘s anyway there’s lotta good guys out there I really enjoy them anyways thank you for what you do but I noticed you didn’t use acetone or or anything when you took that slower grinder variable speed grinder with the wire wheel on it and it still turned out good anyhow this is a Jim mungai From Kennerdell PA I have a dynasty 210 DX welder you have a good day thank you again
Great video , thanks for taking the time do that.
Thank you great vid for us new welders
Thanks for this information.
Thank you. I love welding with Tig. And I love welding aluminum. I usually use the stainless steel brush. I never knew the variable speed Granger's existed don't go out and buy one.
The hard wheels designed for aluminum and then file it work wonders getting abrasive and such out of an area after grinding, chisels even work for scraping (more of a pull using the corner)
great video Jason learned a lot, good arc shots of the weld as well thanks for taking the time to explain
Really nicely presented, Thanks for sharing.
Great video even for a hobbyist welder like me. Good information thank you for the education.
I'm just getting started with welding aluminum with my everlast tig welder and have always wondered about this.
Do you have the mig, Tig, and stick? If so then did you get the lead for the Tig torch?
i can see the problem with the last weld done after the stainless steel electric wire brush, we could see the oxide coming off the actual filler rod itself. Didnt you clean the filler rod too?
Good video mate 👍👍
Thanks for the video! Question for you guys:
Does the Stainless wheel/brush cause any long term corrosion issues when using it to prep aluminium?
I work on aircraft and we are strictly prohibited from using stainless products like wire wheels or brushes on aluminium to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion from occuring from small bits of stainless getting embedded in the aluminium.
I’ve welded a ton of x-rayed aluminum. Never once seen a spec of stainless anywhere .. the digital X-rays would be easy to see if it’s in there
I'm not an ally welder but, wouldn't a straight bristle wire wheel be better than a twist knot? They tend to not dig in as much and give you a clean more like the hand held brush, just thought it might be worth mentioning.
Guilty of the back and forth wire brushing. Will try this tomorrow to see if I improve the quality of my aluminum welds.
What is your weld settings?
One thing not mentioned that works well for outside corner joints on aluminum is to use a file to clean the edges rather than a brush. I use a dedicated aluminum-only mill file, used in one direction only like you did with the handheld brush, and it puts a super clean edge on outside corners. Other than cleaning filler wire with acetone, which seems to often remove an oily substance I suspect is from the forming process, is there a way to clean oxide off the filler wire?
Todd Grzech I like to use a scotch brite pad.
What’s your thoughts on cleaning with acid? From my experience, acid seems to help on older dirty metal with a lot of oxidation....but not good on newer material with light oxidation. Like those tubes in your video, I would have taken them to the sink, sprayed with acid for 30 seconds, rinsed, dried, then only half as much work with the wire brush is needed. I understand acid may not be an option on some projects.
I did learn something on brush strokes so great video. Just wanted to add to the conversation and get your thoughts. Keep them coming.
I do the same thing, use mag n wheel cleaner acid.
Ron Platt same here. I use alumabright or something similar on older dirty material. But on relatively new material the acid cleaning seems to make the arc wonder more and the dimes don’t stack as nice. Have you experienced that?
I realize the new technology in the inverter machines will clean well enough so it’s not crucial that you clean every piece of material, but all alum will oxidize quickly and the cleaner the material, the better things are supposed to work. Really I’m just bored and making conversation. 😜
@@harrillwiggins1375 I don't have a new machine, using a 1980 airco 300amp welder set up for tig or stick. I have to clean the metal very good before hand. Yes, I don't use the acid on new aluminum, just brush and clean with acetone.
@@ronplatt I bought an Airco 300 (big orange machine with a crane lift point); any chance I can buy a copy of the manual from you?
@@scottwillis5434 found the manual, I can ta pictures of it and send them to you. let me know where to email or upload them
Super helpful and well explained. Thanks
Yes pretty good demo and info thank you so much .
I haven’t welded aluminum yet but good to know . Good video , thank you !
Great video! I did a lot of aluminum back in the day and learned something new - thanks.Jody at welding tips and tricks did a video on doing aluminum (very think) on DC with a Helium mix. I would love to see more on this technique if you ever got the time. Cleanliness was everything since you are not using AC. Looked like a great way to do heavy material where AC just can't punch through or you don't have a heavy duty machine. Thanks again!
Appreciate the videos. Old guys like education too.
Oxides /simple answer!
I like to push the tip of brush awards the direction of weld travel plus some clean air,take a break and oxides are back ,that dirty Air we are breathing
I use scotch bright surface
flapper wheels on all my aluminum swiping in one direction.. I prep it all before tacking it up, seems to be the best method I have tried yet.. I do high end production on 6061T6 so I dont have time to wire brush joints and those stainless wheels on a 4" grinder can hop up and bite you really easy.. I have been using the flapper method for years now. I acetone before and after buffing off the oxide layer..
im just starting out and I was trying to form a puddle with the torch (no filler) and I noticed the oxide layer wouldn't go away, then the aluminum would blow out like you said.. ill try cleaning the hell out of it and see if that helps
Preparation is the key
Very good education 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
what about sand or preferably glass bead blasting, and then cleaning that off with compressed air?
Whitewolf the blasting media stays in the surface even after ultrasonic wash acetone and wire brush, we tried it and did not get it to work for our purposes. We do aluminum thermo form molds
Sounds great! Have to watch out for oil and water carried along with the compressed air is all. If your shop air is dry, this should be about as good as it gets.
Yes my air is quite dry and clean. The only thing that I don't like is that bead blasting something large gets the fine glass all over, (my cabinet is very small)! Never have tried blasting before welding, just never occurred to me to try it.
Wish this came out yesterday!
I like to use a 90 degree die grinder with a red medium grit scotch brite to remove oxide layer before welding.
Good video and camera shots. Correct name for the "pepper" and impurities on the surface is dross. The techniques and examples shown are excellent. As soon as you think the aluminum is clean enough...…...do it again! LOL. Well done Redbeard!
As far as cleaning the filler material, should we hit it with the wire brush also?
What kind of acetone? Thanks
What tungsten you using
EXCELENTE VIDEO¡¡... Y MUY ILUSTRATIVO¡¡...SALUDOS DESDE MEXICO¡¡
how should you clean the filler rod?