Best Way To Weld Galvanized Sheet Metal

The best way to weld sheet metal panels together is by butt welding which is joining them side by side see picture below.

Best way to weld galvanized sheet metal.

The best way to weld galvanized steel regardless of welding process is to remove the zinc coating from the joint. The sheet metal can be welded without removal and with a little damage to the zinc coating. In general the galvanized coatings after fabrication are thicker than the recommended amount and become critical to weld. Mount a diamond blade in your angle grinder and use it like a saw to cut the mesh.

Tig welding is the way forward for metal under 0 6mm and a mig welder with decent power and wire control is needed for anything less than 0 8mm. Removing the coating and re spraying or painting the weld seam after welding to regain corrosion resistance. Ideally there should be a 1 32 gap between the patch and the. A standard arc welder is undoubtedly the best way to weld galvanized steel.

Welding thick galvanized coatings or butt welds or welding creases or corners where the galvanization naturally builds up benefits from grinding the galvanization off first. Welding tips and tricks answer. If you can work outside when using an arc welder. Metal lath and hardware cloth can be cut with a tin snips but there s an easier way.

Making a patch panel. You are right about removing galvanized coatings sort of. Hold the grinder at a 15 degree angle to the metal and make long passes along the weld area with light pressure being applied to the grinder. The weld strength should be the same whether welding galvanized steel or not.

To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity. Tig welding sheet metal. Welding car panels if you are welding a large panel then the expansion of the metal during welding is likely to cause the panel to distort. It depends on what you are welding and how critical the application.

Removing galvanizing from galvanized steel is best accomplished with a hard wheel flapper wheel or grinding disc attached to a grinder. For example i worked for a while welding big tables that held furniture stripper chemicals. Take some time to make your patch a perfect fit. They were made from galvanized sheet metal and we didnt clean crap.

As long as the zinc oxide gets access to air to burn off. This adds two operations. Butt welded panels withstand stress better than any other type of weld joint. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal.

Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. Arc welding is a versatile method that uses alternating currents to create a high heat arc that melts your flux.