Stainless Steel Welds

[Guest nomis]

Its been suggested to me that the welds in the Stainless Steel chassis should be protected i.e. Primed and Painted.

 

Being ignorant and not understanding the difference between Stainless steel and metal other than its shiny and doesn't rust (much) and certainly not knowing if its properties survive welding I wondered the 'experts' think.

 

Cheers

 

Nomis

[Guest daveg]

I ain't painting mine 'cos I want to polish the chassis where it shows...

 

Dave

[Guest piddy]

Hi Nomis.

I didn't prime or paint the welds on my chassis but then wished I had after reading lots of posts saying that One should. But after three yaers it seems to be in good shape with no rust showing on the welds I can see.

Piddy.

[Guest TerryBarry]

Hi,

Have a look at this thread.Previous discussion

HTH

Terry

[Guest Cantbearsed]

What you need is a powdered substance called "Pickling Paste". You give it a swift stir, lob it on the welds where they have discoloured with a small paint brush and rub with a cloth in a heavy handed polishing manner. It removes all "rust" marks and leaves an embarrassing whith deposit which polishes off. Also deters any further oxidising of the joints.

Obtainable from all good metal fabrication suppliers.

 

 

EDIT _ ABSOLUTELY NOT ! This post is possibly the most dangerous piece of info ever posted to these pages. Pickling paste CANNOT be used in any way casually as is suggested here. You dont 'LOB' pickling paste on anything and you most certainly dont 'rub it off with a cloth in a heavy handed manner'.

- READ MY FOLLOWING POST- Mick M (Health & Safety Officer)

Edited September 28, 2003 by mickmellors

[Guest mickmellors]

Pickling paste is basically Hydrofloric Acid - it is EXTREMELY dangerous stuff in the wrong hands. As a Health & Safety Officer in the Stainless fabrication industry I can only advise that you dont even be in the same area as anyone using the stuff. More and more stainless fabrication companies are BANNING its use because insurance claims for burns to skin and eyes would cripple them with increased insurance premiums if they continue its use following claims. The HSE already recommend that it is not used if alternative methods are available - which they always are. If you get it on your skin, even in small amounts it will leech through the skin and search out the nearest available Calcium deposits which it finds in your bones. It dissolves the first Calcium it finds and goes looking for more etc etc. There is an antidote cream, known as HF Cream which you slap on the affected area. It is basically Calcium rich and the Acid acts on the cream rather than looking inside your body.

 

It is VERY NASTY STUFF - DONT EVEN CONSIDER IT !

 

If you want to tidy up your chassis welds use a rotary flap wheel disc in a 4 1/2" angle grinder to get rid of the knobbles and a rotary wire brush in an electric drill to finish off. Use proper eye protection and a dust mask, and watch where the sparks are going or everything in the garage will be covered in metal dust or burning nicely.

 

The main reason for corrosion (rust) appearing at the welds is that the carbon and iron content trapped in the solid metal become momentarily free moving in the molten (liquid) weld pool. It 'migrates' to the surface and remains there when the pool solidifies again. It is this newly exposed iron which leads to rust at the welds.

 

Apart from rusty welds not looking particularly nice it is not going to be a structural problem. If it is thoroughly wire brushed clean and bright and sprayed with a couple of light coats of Aerosol laquer which is available from anywhere selling aerosol paints the problem does not require further thought.

[Guest Twoscoops]

Dave

 

How are you going to polish the stainless...??? I assume your talking about the roll over bar,etc. i have also thought about this but when I experimented on other areas (which will not show) i have ended up with a dull effect or a scratched effect..

 

Tips would be much appreciated...!!!

 

Cheers

 

T.

[Guest paul thompson]

I too am planning to polish the roll over bar, to this end I have bought a polishing kit, consists of 2 wheels that you use in your drill, Preferably with hammer off!! one coarse and one fine. If you have deep scratches then you need to get rid of them first by using finer and finer wet and dry. You also get 2 grades of "soap" or wax to help the polisher do its job. I did my stainless windscreen pillars with it to great effect, but it does take ages!

[Guest AWhite]

You could always get it chromed.

[Big Jim]

1'd like to see the roll bar on a 2B taken off!!!!!

 

Angle grinder of course!!

[Mitch]

or chrome the whole lot

you would need a big bath though

[Guest daveg]

Twoscoops

 

Easy....what you need is wire wool and some polish called Solvo (I know this is the wrong spelling, I'll get the right one tomorrow when I visit the garage yet again)

 

I used wet'n'dry first, starting with 600, then 800, then 1200, then the wire-wool and polish. Comes up like a mirror

 

This should also work if you have a scratch on thee stainless.

 

Agree with Mick about Hydrofloric acid (and two pack paint ) but not Jim about the roll bar...If I roll me car I want that bar there

 

Dave

Just noticed Paul's reply which is a similar process to mine with different polish

[Guest TerryBarry]

There was a chrome polish called (I think) Solvol Autosol - and very effective it was.

But I haven't seen it for ages.

If anyone knows that it's still out there - where can I find it??

I seem to have a problem on the roll bar on the outside at maximum curvature with stress lines which do not want to polish out - maybe I just haven't applied enough elbow grease.

Hydrofluoric acid has the ability to attack glass - and I agree with Mick Mellors any preparation containing it ( together with, I understand, nitric acid ) should be avoided like the plague (pox) or similar affliction.

If you really want to understand the problems of "pickling paste" read this HSE document.

Not for the squeamish

Terry

[swan]

terry

 

One of our company chemist's told me about the nasties in hf acid

some 40 years ago and the hse doc brought it all back.

as dave g says wet and dry in progressively finer grades is good .

In the mod / nuclear power industry the use of wire wool is outlawed as the stainless can be left with surface contamination from the wire wool.

the method used instead is "Scotchbrite" polishing pads which are similar

to the green pan scourer type pads used by the lady of the house to clean saucepans. it is obtainable in varying grades and can also comes in small polishing discs and on aroll

hth Pete

[Guest nomis]

Thanks for all the advice, I'm going to clean up the my Welds (without 'nasty' chemicals) and Laquer them.

 

Not sure about polishing the roll bar, may paint black to contrast with all other 'Bright' work.

 

Cheers

 

 

Nomis