On Jan 17, 10:12*am, "David Courtney" wrote:
"Nok @hotmail.com" peekamooseremove wrote in message

...

I haven't been on RCM for ages...glad to see it's still alive. *I'm working
on a project in aluminum angle and I've been having questionable results
welding with a spoolmate 100. *My welds seem like they're fairly solid, but
they're consistently sooty. *I'm cleaning the aluminum (6061), using pure
argon, right gun angle, stickout, etc. *If I wire brush the welds after I'm
done they look fine. *Any tips/tricks/suggestions?

* *De-grease the whole thing with solvent first, then remove the oxide from
around the joint with a stainless brush.
* *Crank up the gas flow (20 - 30 CFH). *Turn up the heat, don't weave, and
"push" instead of "dragging" the weld.

In addtion to this fine advice,
Get a New Stainless brush, and NEVER EVER allow it to touch any steel,
or any thing EXCEPT aluminum, Ever.
Wrap a piece of aluminum foil around it for storage, and use it to
brush the aluminum just before you weld it. Be careful where you set
the brush down when using it.

De-grease the aluminum first, it must be VERY dry, and final brush
with you special brush. Weld immediately.

You will have shiny welds.