Precleaning Aluminum

[fun4now]

not positive but i think its a brand name chemical etcher. i have herd it will help with getting better penitration if its the stuff i'm thinking of.

[JonnyTIG]

Sounds like a brand name, the S-22 I mentioned is a product name, made by who I don't know. Mild caustic etcher, you want to wear rubber gloves using those kinds of products, and have good ventilation.

[Darmik]

Hey HMW

Did you get a chance to use the WD-40?

[Steve]

Al is rather fussy and dosen't like anything but itself. Alumicut is a lubricant made specially for putting the slicks to Al. The reason grinding wheels or burr bits pile up is AL gets plastic around 750 degress. Thus it molds and smears plugging up removal tools. You just can't grind it like steel. You must move around to keep the heat down or wait.

[fun4now]

a lil wax on the flap disk goes a long way., just as it will on cutting blades.
quick simple and no clean up needed, hit it with the SS brush and TIG away.

[Darmik]

Hey Steve

You really need to try WD-40 this stuff really does work after this though
you need to clean the metal and JonnyTIG say's to use this stuff Methyl alchohol works very well, and leaves no film.

[WELD 15]

LPS - Zero Tri

This product is Manufactured by LPS see MSDS link below.


www.lpslabs.com/gettechfile.asp?FileID=13520

It is a cleaner/degreaser that works very well with aluminum - it's the safe version of Tri-Chlor. Was a reccomendation by Alco-Tec.

[welder_one]

HOT SOAPY WATER!!! be sure to rinse well and then use an etching chemical like nitric and/ or sulfuric acid. be sure to rinse well. then use a ss wire brush by hand. this will be one of the cleanest easiest ways to get al clean. wd-40 will actually imbed itself into the parent metal and nothing you can do about it. it will make a poor weld. alumacut, made by tap magic, is great stuff to keep aluminum from "gumming" up. and it dries, so it is easy to get cleaned up. acetone works pretty good for oil removal, but m.e.k. works the best. just my 2 cents worth

[tnjind]

Would generic brake cleaner work?

[welder_one]

brake cleaner has tetrachlorouerethane ( i think i spelled that right) any way when you use it, it leaves a residue on the metal. when the arc gets on that residue it changes into some bad stuff that when inhaled is comparable to inhaling burnt freon. some really bad stuff. i dont know this from experience. i only heard it from a chemical professor. from that point, i am too afraid to use it..... except on brakes

[tnjind]

Yep, it sounds bad. Glad I asked.
Thanks,Tim

[HMW]

Brakleen does leave a residue, Don't ask me how I know this If you have to use it to remove something nasty, use water after it.

[tnjind]

Thanks for the info.
This site is great , just for this reason. Info sharing is a goood thing.

[Steve]

Do not put your greasy AL part in toilet bowl cleaner to get rid of the grease. It created a violent reaction complete with furious bubbly foaming, heat generating, nasty fuming monsters ......Run around scream and shout!... leaving the AL black after I got the two separated. The cleaner had hydrogen something or another as the only ingredient at 25% concentration. The label said nothing about reacting to AL at all. I should have stayed awake during Chem class. Will give the WD-40 a squirt as I have more gas caps to modify.

[tnjind]

Yeah it does, I have "seen" people put crumbled al. foil and some bowl cleaner in a plastic pop bottle shake it hard ,stand back watch it expand and explode. Pretty cool.