Tried forge welding with a wire brush technique I saw online and got a weird result

I keep getting that same blue tint with wire brushing if my steel is sitting right at welding heat but I'm brushing too aggressively. It might be dragging some oxidation back into the joint. You using stainless or carbon steel bristles?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy_murphy1616d ago

Stainless bristles will do that every time, they're harder and drag more heat out of the steel. It's like when you scrub a cast iron pan too hard with a rough sponge and it starts looking weird, you're basically micro-scratching the surface and changing how the light hits it. Carbon steel brushes are softer and don't pull that blue color out unless you're really digging in. Low and slow with the brushing is the trick, just enough to knock off the scale without going crazy.

wilson.jesse16d ago

Carbon steel brush is the move for sure, I switched a few years back and stopped getting that weird blue discoloration on my mig beads. Once you get into the habit of light passes instead of scrubbing hard, the scale comes off clean without messing with the temper colors underneath. A little drag and wipe is all you need, no need to punish the metal.