Welding Pot Metal - Tips For How to Tig Weld it With HTS-2000, Aladdin 3 in 1, Or Durafix

Welding pot metal is not as hard as people say, but it is not as easy as you might think...unless you know the tricks.

Pot metal is used for all kinds of cheap trinkets like figurines, cookie cutters, hole punch handles and especially old automotive window crank handles.  The problem with welding this kind of stuff is that sometimes the effort that goes into welding it is just not worth it. But there are some things made from pot metal that are worth fixing. Some of the ones that come to mind are antiques, old classic car parts like trim and ornaments, and grandmas old cookie cutter that is not worth anything but has sentimental value.

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 Pot metal is made from aluminum, zinc, copper and possibly a few other low melting point metals in various combinations. It's also referred to as Die Cast metal.

Welding Pot Metal - Tips For How to Tig Weld it With HTS-2000, Aladdin 3 in 1, Or Durafix

It's the zinc that makes it a pain  to weld because zinc has such a low  melting point and also tries to out-gas when tig welded. But It can be welded with few problems if you know how.

The 3 main welding rods are :

HTS-2000 Durafix Alladin 3 in 1 

These rods are advertised to be able to weld using only a small hand held propane torch. That is actually brazing, not welding, but the sales guys at boat shows are really impressive when they braze repair big holes in beer cans.

But these Zinc aluminum brazing rods can also be used to Tig Weld Pot Metal.

If you are pretty decent at tig welding aluminum, you can surely read this article and do OK tig welding this stuff too.

Generally,  pot metal parts are pretty clean so only a minor bit of grinding is required before welding. Usually the problem is that something just broken off clean. If that's the case, a little grooving out of the crack will permit enough penetration for a strong joint. Remember, if it's an ornamental piece, and its broken because someone dropped it, Its going to break again if its dropped again no matter how deep you penetrate the weld, so take it easy on the penetration.

You need an A/C tig welding machine with high frequency start.  Most  jobs can be welded with a small 1/16  inch tungsten electrode with a blunt taper on the tip.  Set the amperage to only about 80 amps and you probably wont even need near that much.

Tig weld it just like you would aluminum except that you will only weld for about 5 or 10 seconds at a time before stopping to let it cool. Just when it gets to flowing good. STOP! Its about to melt and fall in your lap. That is the best tip around for welding this stuff.

Stop often and let cool.

Welding Pot Metal - Tips For How to Tig Weld it With HTS-2000, Aladdin 3 in 1, Or Durafix

Jody Collier's web articles on subjects like welding pot metal are full of Down and Dirty welding tips. For TIG, MIG, STICK welding tips along with a buttload of other welding information, visit http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/
And while you are soaking in some welding tips, take a minute and sign up for "Welding Videos Reviewed" a weekly video newsletter.

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How to Refinish Metal Kitchen Cabinets

Previously I have written a lot about refinishing kitchen cabinets but have not really shared much on how to refinish metal kitchen cabinets. In this review I will focus on the metal cabinets and hopefully you will find the information useful and relevant.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can only finish cabinets that are still in good shape. In addition, they should fit well with you're the style of the house.

Refurbish

In many of my reviews I normally just recommend DIY but in this case I think one best option is to have a local company work on them. The reason is because some of the metal cabinets may have been made by companies that don't even exist right now e.g. I know a someone who had his done by "Artmetal' in James town NY but now he can't locate the company in James Town. So the next best thing is to find a trained expert to work on them.

How to Refinish Metal Kitchen Cabinets

My best answer to the question of how to refinish metal kitchen cabinets is to have your them electrostatic painted inside and out. It is very cost effective to refinish metal cabinets with electrostatic painting. This process basically uses a wet solvent-based paint. There is no baking or oven curing required as some suggest. These people confuse powder coating with electrostatic painting.

You would probably need to first clean them with 409 and remove all the handles before painting. Make sure that there is an open window when doing this and use an exhaust fan or something similar. Furthermore you would have to live the windows overnight the next day in order to vent the house.

How to Refinish Metal Kitchen Cabinets

Just make sure that the paint is "automobile" finish quality. If you are not sure about this just find a website that offers kitchen cabinet refacing reviews. When it comes to refinishing metal kitchen cabinets I normally just recommend that you consult with an expert.

I know a website that offers a list of pre-screened kitchen cabinet refacing companies that are willing to come to your home for an obligation FREE consultation. Just give them a try - you have nothing to lose. Choose you company at:

http://www.kitchencabinetrefacingcompanies.com

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