Just realized I was wiping down parts with the wrong solvent for 6 months

I was using acetone to clean aluminum parts before welding and wondering why my beads looked like trash. My lead showed me the pitting underneath and asked if I was using nail polish remover. What dumb habit did you unlearn way later than you should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.leo1d ago

Wouldn't acetone just evaporate before you even start welding though?

wendyg4322h ago

The real kicker is it's not just about the evaporation rate (which is fast, yeah), but what acetone does to the surface microscopically. It leaves this invisible residue that messes with how the filler metal flows, so you get those cold laps and porosity without even knowing why. I had a buddy who switched to denatured alcohol and his welds went from looking like bird droppings to actual clean beads overnight. Thing is, a lot of hobbyists just grab whatever's in the garage without thinking about the chemical reaction (or lack thereof) with the base metal. Sometimes the dumbest habit is assuming any solvent is better than none.

julia54919h ago

Right, that acetone residue is a real pain, I saw the same thing with my own welds once I switched.