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Thread: MIG with Powdercoat
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4th Jun 2019, 09:16 AM #1Diamond Member
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MIG with Powdercoat
Just thought I'd share this here in case it helps someone in the future.
I've found trying to MIG weld powdercoated steel a pretty dreadful experience. Grinding the weld area helps a bit, but the nearby melting coating seems to produce some gas or something that makes the arc go to hell, making a hissing sound and leaving a globby-looking bead.
The answer? Change the gas to straight CO2. Welds like a dream.
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4th Jun 2019, 04:35 PM #2Most Valued Member
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What gas mix were you running before the CO2 ?
Steve
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4th Jun 2019, 08:02 PM #3Diamond Member
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14th Jun 2019, 12:03 PM #4Diamond Member
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you get more heat and better penetration with it. We were using it on heavy sections at work 20mm+, but after some testing decided it wasn't worth the trouble of keeping extra gas.
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14th Jun 2019, 08:09 PM #5Diamond Member
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Allegedly, straight CO2 is actually MAG rather than MIG. It behaves better with gal, but in general the bead tends to have a more humped profile - not as nice as you get with conventional MIG gas. On the other hand, for short-circuit welding, CO2 is considerably quieter than MIG gas.
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14th Jun 2019, 09:36 PM #6Member
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15th Jun 2019, 10:45 PM #7Diamond Member
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15th Jun 2019, 11:43 PM #8Senior Member
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Pretty sure I have read that the co2 does react with the base metal acting as a flux and provides some cleaning. OTOH, pure argon as used with tig, does not clean hence the need to preclean. (I was trying to understand why mig could weld any old rusty thing without prep)
I guess pure co2 takes this to another level.
Russ
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17th Jun 2019, 10:40 AM #9
I use CO2 for all my welding (gal, painted, black, thick sections and thin sheet). Works well in all situations and gives good penetration, however the bead isn't as neat (as MIG mix) and you do tend to get more spatter.
Cheers.
Vernon.
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