MikeRJ
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 09:42 PM |
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MIGing Stainless Steel
What do I need to MIG weld stainless steel, i.e. wire, gas etc?
My Civic exhaust has decided to die a death, and unfortunately my choice of replacment is severely limited (MB6 chassis, same as Rover 400). I can
get a chavvy aftermarket performance system for around £280 with a tail pipe the size of a dustbin, a nicely made Supersprint mild steel performance
system for a mere £365!!!!, or a very crappy standard aftermarket one for £175. The genuine Honda one is nearly £300.
However, the design of all the earlier Civic exhausts is very simmilar, so I'm considering getting a decent stainless system for a 4 door saloon
and cutting and shutting it to fit.
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oliwb
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 09:51 PM |
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you'll need:
pure argon gas, can use mix but co2 makes it splatter lots and darkens, stainless wire you also want to put a piece of the parent metal around the
earth clamp or it will colour the stainless aswell....You'll prob need quite a high power setting as ss melts hotter than ms.....Hope that
helps...Oli.
If your not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room!
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 09:51 PM |
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For an exhaust, just get a small roll of stainless wire (0.6mm), your normal TC gas will do the job
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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kit Car KIDDA
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 09:54 PM |
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tig welding is a lot neater but harder to do,mig welding stainless using mild steel wire and helium gas gives a neat weld but will rust, stainless
wire with helishield gas will not rust but not quite as neat,ps can you help with my castor angle query nice one mate
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Triton
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 10:00 PM |
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If stuck use normal mild steel wire...RH do
My Daughter has taken over production of the damn fine Triton race seats and her contact email is emmatrs@live.co.uk.
www.tritonraceseats.com
www.hairyhedgehog.com
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 10:05 PM |
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Cheers guys.
I have a cylinder of argon/CO2 mix, bit relucatant to buy a cyclinder of pure argon just for one job (bad experience with thos small cyinders, they
seem to leak slightly if used once and then unscrewed, and months later you come back to empty bottle!).
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tks
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 10:12 PM |
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on work for MIG we use mix
and for TIG pure Argon..
use stainless wire else you can do the jobvery often...
i think you need low setting because its thin material/often..
Tks
The above comments are always meant to be from the above persons perspective.
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DEAN C.
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 10:48 PM |
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Hi,same from me,argoshield mix will weld fine for the job you are doing.
I welded my Indy stainless system where it bends into the silencer as I had to alter the angle. I just buffed it up to get the dark oxide off and it
looks fine on the outside of the car,so yours will be ok underneath.
Once I've finished a project why do I start another?
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Peteff
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| posted on 15/12/05 at 11:24 PM |
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The co2 in the gas introduces carbon into the weld and it will eventually rust even though it's stainless, but it will probably outlast the rest
of the car.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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oliwb
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| posted on 16/12/05 at 09:58 AM |
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If you want to do it right and have a nice stainless weld which will not darken or rust get yourself a couple of little bottles of Argon and the
stainlesss wire. It's worth a bit more for the saitisfaction of doing right.....As others have said you can do with ordinary wire and
argo-shield but there are a few problems with this:
Stainless Steel has a higher melting point than mild steel so you will find that penetration is nowhere near so good. And as mentioned obviously
using mild steel wire will mean that your weld will rust and generally look crap next to all that nice stainless stuff! Do remember to put some
stainless materisl between the earth clamp and the exhaust though or you'll make a mess of it's finish. I would only ever do what others
are suggesting if it's a realy tiny amount eg 1 tack or I was too tight to buy the right stuff....on something like a brand new exhaust its just
not worth it! Do it right the first time and you'll be glad u did in the long-term trust me! Rant over....Oli.
If your not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room!
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paulf
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| posted on 16/12/05 at 04:04 PM |
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I welded my stainless exhaust system with 1.5mm arc rods, they were Eutectic 680s for dissimiliar metals. If you can arc weld then it is another
option and can be done fairly neatly with some practice.
Paul.
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chrisf
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| posted on 16/12/05 at 05:26 PM |
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I have a completely different experience than others suggest. I used really thin stainless wire (.03” IIRC) and 80% argon, 20% CO2. I’m no
professional welder, but the stainless pieces I’ve welded get great penetration at the lower heat levels. I just completed my
stainless exhaust. Because it can be seen easily, I tacked using MIG and took it to a TIG guy for complete welding.
Even using MIG, I got no spatter and nice looking welded, but MIG welds nonetheless.
For your exhaust, assuming no one will ever see the welds, I would personally have no issue welding it. Just my opinion.
--Chris
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Andy S
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| posted on 18/12/05 at 08:27 PM |
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I have done quite a bit of stainless DIY mig work and you DO NOT want pure Argon - It does not work with mig - You will get a neat enough good weld
with Argoshield light - but the best stuff to use is Helishield an Helium mix.
As I use Stainless and Mild quite often I just use the Argoshield light and put up with the slightly dirty welds - but the strength of the weld is
very good.
The biggest problem with welding thin-ish stainless is that you can only get .8 welding wire so the current has to be on the high side.
Hope that helps
Andrew
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