MIG welding problem

[motaaa]

i was welding up some stuff on my bronco ii today and i noticed that on many of the welds that i was doing theres some brown soot stuff all over the area i was welding. anyone know whats causing this? ive been playing around with the settings all night and cant seem to figure it out. its not messing w/ the weld itself its just that im cageing it this weekend and dont wanna spend hours cleaning every joint.
i already have the gas at 20cfh. im using a 220 clarke .35 wire and 25/75 gas.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Is the metal you are welding spotlessly clean or rusty or painted?

MIG needs to be CLEAN, ground down to bare, shiny metal.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

are you using flux-core? thats what it sounds like.

make sure your tip is clean and the shielding gas is flowing good

 

[Iron Ranger]

If you could upload a pic or two, it would help out a lot.

 

[doorgunner]

if the metal that you're welding is clean...check the label on the roll of Mig wire to see if it is flux core wire....if it is---turn the gas off/change the tip on the mig gun/possibly swap the + - connections...then try welding again (flux core wire doesn't need gas & will leave a nasty brown look on metal that's not clean)

 

[motaaa]

im pretty sure im NOT using flux considering i have a 11lb spool of copper coated RADNOR MIG .035 wire sitting inside my welder

i cleaned up the metal as best i could with a 4.5" sanding wheel but the thing is that its not doing it all the time.
for example ill put down a bead and stop and everythings good, then if i continue on the same piece itll leave that brown shit everywhere. no spatter just brown soot.

ill put up a pic tonite

 

[BlackBII]

Brown soot like this? It's normal, don't fret it....

 

[motaaa]

Brown soot like this? It's normal, don't fret it....

yeah! thats not as bad as mine gets though.. whats it from?
lim liking the trigger weld

 

[Iron Ranger]

That's just the shielding gas doing it's job. It's mainly the CO2 that can cause a "brownish haze" to form around the area welded, which is vaporized contaminants. It's perfectly normal.

As long as it sounds right, looks right, and feels right when welding, chances are you're good to go.

 

[B&G_Automotive]

Brown soot like this? It's normal, don't fret it....

Not to sound like I am preaching but lazymig or "trigger up" is a terible technique to practice even if it is just for exhaust. People who use that technique on a regular basis also start to use it for structural applications which is a HUGE no no. Also its hell on higher end welders that energize the tip only when the trigger is pulled.

 

[ecenur]

i was welding up some stuff on my bronco ii today and i noticed that on many of the welds that i was doing theres some brown soot stuff all over the area i was welding. anyone know whats causing this? ive been playing around with the settings all night and cant seem to figure it out. its not messing w/ the weld itself its just that im cageing it this weekend and dont wanna spend hours cleaning every joint.
i already have the gas at 20cfh. im using a 220 clarke .35 wire and 25/75 gas.

Mig welding needs to be clean at all times, also make sure you are using enough gas to keep the welds clean.