I have some galvanised steel panels kicking about... any problems with welding them to mild steel?

Grind off the galv or it will spatter horrendously and produce horrible welds.
In addition you'll then breath in the zinc vapour which can give flu like
symptoms.

you cant weld it Toxic Fumes can kill you.
i have done it by grinding it off.

/ Wot they said................dont do it

Cheers peeps!

Grind the galv off & do it where there's some decent ventilation & you'll be fine. You can see the change in the colour of the steel & sparks when it's cleaned properly. The other side from the weld will give fumes off too if you dont clean it off but it wont really affect the weld.
Apart from more fumes as said the weld will be poor if you dont clean it.
I've been fettling & modding farm gates & the like for years with no problem.

Cheers.

What's the best disc type to use to grind it clean?

quote:

---

Originally posted by thunderace
you cant weld it Toxic Fumes can kill you.
i have done it by grinding it off.

---

Welding galvanised steel as said is only bad if you don't grind the galvanising off with an angry grinder (or a dremel off cut disc if you want to do it precisely).

Welding through galvanising gives absolutely horrible welds and produces lots of zinc oxide which (although good for nappy rash when applied to the skin) is bloody awful for you when you breathe it in. First sign is usually a stonking headache. It can be quite serious if you don't listen to your body at that stage (but to be fair it usually isn't and deaths from "welding fumes" are usually amongst people with shagged kidneys, liver etc etc)....

So grind it off and away you go. Chances are if it welds nicely and you don't see white smoke you'll be fine.....

Theres syanide in some galvanising. Wear a mask and grind it off both sides and weld it in a good ventilated place. If you havent got rid of the galvanise you will have yellow dust sort of stuff about the weld. You dont want to breathe that in.