anti-spatter

[bandsawguy]

Hey guys I have a quick question regarding anti-spatter. I was wondering what you would use in a production enviroment to prevent spatter from sticking to the weldament. The company is currently buying anti-spatter in aerosol form for the weldament and paste for the tips. They would like something more economical but also don't want to buy it bulk and pour it into trigger bottles. I guess they want their and cake and eat it too. This isn't for me but someone has asked me for some advise so I thought I would check here and see what other ideas are out there.

[vwguy3]

There are gallon size liquid products available and also paste type too.
Some use the liquid in a pump sprayer to spray on fixturing or large weldments.

[aametalmaster]

This is what i use for my fixtures to protect the fixtures plus give the parts a week or so of protection until they can get to the powder coaters. I spray everything with WD-40. Its cheap in gallon jugs then i put it in spray bottles. I found when using the regular spatter products they rust my parts and then i have to clean everything and some of them have some nasty chemicals. Some of my products have 5,000 welds and 1,000 pcs of tubing so clean up really sucks. I wear a 3M half face respirator while welding so i don't smell the fumes of the WD plus i always have some air moving. This is just what i use and no one has shown me anything better for spatter and rust protection....Bob

[cassidy]

Very similar to WD40 - I use silicone spray over weldment + surrounding area.

[MIKIEweld]

This is what i use for my fixtures to protect the fixtures plus give the parts a week or so of protection until they can get to the powder coaters. I spray everything with WD-40. Its cheap in gallon jugs then i put it in spray bottles. I found when using the regular spatter products they rust my parts and then i have to clean everything and some of them have some nasty chemicals. Some of my products have 5,000 welds and 1,000 pcs of tubing so clean up really sucks. I wear a 3M half face respirator while welding so i don't smell the fumes of the WD plus i always have some air moving. This is just what i use and no one has shown me anything better for spatter and rust protection....Bob

WD40 is a hydrocarbon....You could end up with HAZ cracking.. (hydrogen cracks can appear up to 72 hrs after welding)

Very similar to WD40 - I use silicone spray over weldment + surrounding area.

Silicone is a good anti-spatter, but it is dangerous to breath in....
I would look for 'THE WORKS' anti-spatter.... It's made up of natural products, very economical as a little goes a long way, and doesn't dry out on the parts to be welded, when you go for break.....

[aametalmaster]

WD40 is a hydrocarbon....You could end up with HAZ cracking.. (hydrogen cracks can appear up to 72 hrs after welding)

Steel with a ultimate tensile strength of less than 1000 MPa or hardness of less than 30 HRC are not generally considered susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement. I am not using fancy steels just plain HR.
I figured it can't be any worse than all the oils that come on my new tubing from the mfg and the splatter doesn't stick to it when new. I have been using it for 8 years with no problems. This is what i make. http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
...Bob

[usmcpop]

Cheapest I've seen anti-spatter in a spray can is around $3.25-$3.50 for 16 oz. So that's about $27./gal as opposed to the bulk stuff which is around $10. to $15. gal if you buy 5 gal. There's also a concentrated type you mix with water, though I don't know the price.

Search for "anti-spatter" here: https://weldwarehouse.securesites.com/

[bandsawguy]

Great thanks for all the tips guys. I will pass this info along.