Polish chrome bumper

[Mildphil]

Oh yea. I learned how to weld in 1979, so yea 40 years ago. Im 60. I spent 32 years working on offshore oil drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Welded out there for 25 years. I got laid off in 2015. I wont go back out there. I worked in the salt mine for about 1 1/2. Then I have been welding at the machine shop for almost 3 years. I do a lot of TIG work now. Aluminum, steel, stainless, inconel, and monel. I also do a weld on hard surface coating. Its a good job. My welding booth has AC and heat.

Wow that's one hell of a resume, was working offshore on he oil rigs a good gig? I've just started learning to weld on an old 240v 295amp stick welder. Any advice for a newbie? I'd eventually like to get good enough to weld up a full aluminum gmt400 grille.

 

[Hipster]

Is there any good way to remedy this? Or should I just bolt it on as is?

There's not a whole lot that can be done for that. Imho

 

[kennythewelder]

I loved it offshore, but its a young mans game. The two most common ways to weld aluminum is wire feed ( MIG) or TIG. TIG is by far the best, but it is also slow. It takes a long time to master welding aluminum, years. Aluminum is the hardest to learn. The quickest way to learn, is to go to welding school, but, you can learn on your own. You have to spend a lot of time under the welding hood, welding, to get good at it. There are a ton of videos on you tube, and the guy who does welding tips and tricks is good at doing His videos, but you just have to spend a lot of time welding.

 

[kennythewelder]

Oh, I will say this about welding aluminum, every thing is exaggerated when welding, and it is very very important that all parts are clean. We grind a lot of the aluminum we weld, with a sanding pad, before we weld it.

 

[Mildphil]

There's not a whole lot that can be done for that. Imho

Eh that's fine, it Still looks pretty good and is nicer than my current bumper. And if anything, I can always replace it with an even nicer one if I stumble across it at the junkyard.

 

[Mildphil]

Oh, I will say this about welding aluminum, every thing is exaggerated when welding, and it is very very important that all parts are clean. We grind a lot of the aluminum we weld, with a sanding pad, before we weld it.

I've heard from other welders that aluminum is extremely hard, especially due to that nasty oxidation layer. That is why you sand it right? My uncle is an extremely skilled welder and painter. He used to paint planes with this special paint, had to wear a full suite and be fed oxygen from a tank.

 

[kennythewelder]

Aluminum comes coated with a very thin clear film. It can be burned through when TIG welding, because of the cleaning effect generated by the AC welding process. It can also be MIG welded without removing the coating, but sanding it is a help. As for oxidation, anything that is not pure aluminum will not weld. Paint, oxidation, JB Weld, anything that is not aluminum, has to be removed. The flash is brighter than any other metal. It welds much faster than any other metal too. You have to move quick. The TIG rod melts much faster, and when aluminum melts, it turns into a thin liquid, almost like water. Where steel puddles together, Aluminum doesnt do that. It does make more smoke, than steel, but my welding booth is about 15x15 feet, and a small exhaust fan handles the smoke with no problem. No need for a mask of any kind, unless I grind.

 

[kennythewelder]

A lot of the work I do is copy protected, but here are 3 aluminum pots I built for a restaurant. My work table that the pots are sitting on is 4'x4'.

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[PlayingWithTBI]

The two most common ways to weld aluminum is wire feed ( MIG) or TIG

Have you ever tried gas welding aluminum? We used to weld sprinkler pipe that way. But as you said it has to be super clean!

 

[kennythewelder]

Yes. They make an aluminum brazing rod that has a flux in the middle of the rod. It works, but does a nasty job. I have also sweated different metal pipe, but not aluminum.