Weld Oxide and Weld Prep
Weld Oxide and Weld Prep
Welding stainless leaves heat tint, the straw and blue discolouration either side of the bead. That oxide layer has to come off before the surface will look right or resist corrosion properly. A pulsed fiber laser lifts it cleanly and stops at the parent metal.
The usual alternative is pickling paste, which is hydrofluoric acid. It burns, it has to be neutralised, and the rinse water cannot go down a drain. Laser cleaning uses no chemical at all, so there is nothing to store, nothing to handle and nothing to dispose of afterwards.
We do pre-weld cleaning to give you a sound surface to start on, and post-weld oxide removal on finished work. Handrails, tanks, food-grade and stainless fabrication, and shop work that would otherwise wait on an outside contractor.
Few Things To Know:
Removing oxide is not the same as passivation. If your drawing or customer spec calls for passivation to a standard, tell us up front. Laser cleaning takes the heat tint off but does not replace a specified passivation process.
It cleans the weld, it does not inspect it. Porosity, undercut and lack of fusion are still there once the tint is gone, and in some cases easier to see. Anything requiring certified inspection still needs an inspector.
Weld work is priced by the hour, not by the square foot. Bead length, access and how heavy the tint is all change how long a job takes, so send a photo of the piece and we will give you a real number.