weld rusty metal

[LittleBill21]

weld rusty metal

i have just learned about 6010/6011 and its ability to weld rusty metal without cleaning, is this possible on MIG? sometimes i do exhaust work and grinding cleaning is not allways possible, would i be able to turn down the power arc 160 thats being sold in the other thread enough to do exhaust without blowing through?

 

[dickfoster]

Always clean rust. Use a cup brush in an angle grinder or something.

 

[LittleBill21]

its not always possible especially on certain y pipe exhaust, alot sites indicate 6010 will let you weld rusty stuff

 

[mechanic]

You can go fluxcore wire if need be, Be careful because it will penetrate metal better. Pratice on a piece of scrap first. Fluxcore is like using stick in a wire machine

 

[GManBart]

would i be able to turn down the power arc 160 thats being sold in the other thread enough to do exhaust without blowing through?

In addition to keeping the amperage low you could also go with small diameter rods. I'd bet with 1/16" 6010/6011 you could work on exhaust parts without blowing through them.

I think I have a rusty exhaust pipe I pulled off an old tractor. If so I'll see if I can't weld on it at a low amperage using some 3/32" 6011 I have....not that I know anything about welding at this point!

 

[BobG_in_VA]

6011 is about the best penetrating rod there is....(for us "jacklegs" anyway)...I understand that you may be able to reverse the polarity (go from "positive" electrode to "negative" electrode) and it won't penetrate as much...from using 6011s on a number of things, I don't think you could reduce the amps enough that it won't burn thru on an exhaust without "sticking" the rod constantly...just my notes...Bobg in VA

 

[joefromga]

I've been struggling with repairing a trailer with 6011 and it's really bad rusty. It's so difficult that I'm beginning to wonder of I have bad rods. I have both 1/8 and 3/32 and the welds are horrible. It's not too bad on clean metals but rust is just not a good thing for welding.

 

[LittleBill21]

yea i have a mig was hoping it was better with stick, apparently its not, thanks for the honest answers

 

[sixdogs]

I welded some really sad rusty cr@ap farm item a couple days ago--do it all the time-- and used Lincoln flux core wire. The weld penetrated well and looked surprisingly good. It's not going anywhere.

I know conventional wisdom around here is to wire brush and grind everything to clean metal--and that's true for MIG but I have not done that with rusty metal and flux core wire and don't think you need to. Read the welding section here for more. Some of those guys are world class welders and have good things to say about rusty metal and flux core wire (or stick). Wire feed is just easier and looks better in my view.

 

[D2Cat]

I've welded thousands of feet of rusty pipe for fencing. After 15 years the pipe may rust apart, but the weld holds. I use 6010+, and never clean the rust. It is a fast freeze rod and does fine.