Stick welding vs MIG on dirty steel, which side are you on?

Had a job last week on an old boiler in Gary, Indiana, steel was covered in rust and mill scale. My partner was running MIG and kept getting porosity, I switched to 7018 rod and burned through it clean. He argued MIG is faster if you grind first, but I figure why add an extra step when stick handles the crud better. What do you guys do when the metal is nasty, prep it out or let the rod do the work?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_carr12d ago

Hate to break it to your partner but he's flat wrong on this one. I've been there with MIG on nasty steel and it's a headache every time. Stick just laughs at rust and mill scale.

evan_dixon6712d ago

So why fight the rust when stick just burns right through it?