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Weld Smut Removal (Mig Welding)

We are a small plating company that is in need of some help in solving a problem. In our process we use a lot of MIG welding and because of this we have a major problem with our plating process. We have been trying to remove the weld smut or carbon from the surface of our product. In our younger years we performed this process by sand blasting "ALL" welded parts. This was a very expensive way to clean our product so we opted to try to perform this cleaning process in line.

Our line goes as follows:

soak, electro-cleaner, rinse, rinse, acid salts with 2% sulfuric acid, rinse, rinse, electro-cleaner, rinse, spray rinse, hydrochloric acid 28%, rinse, zinc tank (alkaline), rinse, rinse, nitric, chromate, rinse, sealant.

We have been told that this is a very aggressive cleaning system, but we are still having problems with this smut. We are looking for any help in this matter. Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Daryl Christopher
- Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA
2001