Any of you guys using Solar Flux B

[DiabolicZ]

I just recently found out about this stuff as an alternative to back purging on stainless steel. It is supposed to be very good. I just ordered 4oz of it and am going to give it a try.

I guess it is a white powder that you mix with Methanol and then coat the inside of your seams with the paste that it makes.

[sportbike]

There is discussion relating to it on this thread http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...ght=solar+flux

[DiabolicZ]

Gotcha, so it leaves something similar to a glass bead after it has melted inside the tube. Wonder if you can just smack the tube and get it to flake and fall out or if you have to actually grind it out?

[Robert s]

Gotcha, so it leaves something similar to a glass bead after it has melted inside the tube. Wonder if you can just smack the tube and get it to flake and fall out or if you have to actually grind it out?

I have used this and no just smacking it will not remove it. It is some tough stuff but works well. Kind of reminds me of the flux on a stainless rod for stick welding, but all ground up.

RESIDUE

The thin glass-like residue is chemically inert after welding and adheres tenaciously to the base metal. While this residue is unattractive to the eye, it does not affect the quality of the weld and usually need not be removed. However, if removal is desired, it is easily accomplished with a stainless steel wheel, stainless steel brush or common pickling compounds. Our research indicates that 'Wonder Gel', manufactured by Bradford DeRustIt Company is excellent.

(Note: there are some pipe or tube welding applications where absolute purity and a polished inside surface are required. These include food or beverage lines where subsequent product refining will not take place, medical oxygen lines, computer chip manufacturing air lines, and high service temperature (above 1000°F) steam lines. In these situations we recommend purging instead of SOLAR FLUX so as to avoid a difficult chemical cleaning process.)

[DiabolicZ]

I have used this and no just smacking it will not remove it. It is some tough stuff but works well. Kind of reminds me of the flux on a stainless rod for stick welding, but all ground up.

RESIDUE

The thin glass-like residue is chemically inert after welding and adheres tenaciously to the base metal. While this residue is unattractive to the eye, it does not affect the quality of the weld and usually need not be removed. However, if removal is desired, it is easily accomplished with a stainless steel wheel, stainless steel brush or common pickling compounds. Our research indicates that 'Wonder Gel', manufactured by Bradford DeRustIt Company is excellent.

(Note: there are some pipe or tube welding applications where absolute purity and a polished inside surface are required. These include food or beverage lines where subsequent product refining will not take place, medical oxygen lines, computer chip manufacturing air lines, and high service temperature (above 1000°F) steam lines. In these situations we recommend purging instead of SOLAR FLUX so as to avoid a difficult chemical cleaning process.)

I was reading a thread where a guy recommends using Solar Flux B for turbo manifolds. He says that he just smacks the pipes on the ground and most of it comes out. Then what doesn't come out he just runs through the turbo. He also said his stuff goes to SEMA for the show.

I find it hard to believe pipes he smacks on the ground go to SEMA. I also would not any "glass" type material going through my turbo.

[Robert s]

I was reading a thread where a guy recommends using Solar Flux B for turbo manifolds. He says that he just smacks the pipes on the ground and most of it comes out. Then what doesn't come out he just runs through the turbo. He also said his stuff goes to SEMA for the show.

I find it hard to believe pipes he smacks on the ground go to SEMA. I also would not any "glass" type material going through my turbo.

I agree smacked pipes at SEMA? And I would not want to risk turbo damage by leaving it in, that is for sure. I just use a stainless cup brush on it and it works well.

[jakeru]

I've got a whole extra pound of the stuff because I forgot I already had some, and then I bought some more.

But anyhow, yes I've used it, I actually oxy-acetylene welded a couple complete automotive stainless exhaust systems with it. (Attached pic shows an oxy-acetylene welded stainless turbo downpipe I welded using solar flux "B".)

It works great but the only downside is it is hard to remove the melted flux residue. I've left the residue inside exhaust systems without problem, but don't know about upstream of a turbine impeller. I actually wouldn't guess it would do any more harm to a turbine wheel than a small amount of media blasting, which is used to clean carbon deposits off of impellers during turbo rebuilding.

Another downside to the flux is you can't expect it to hold up on an additional welding pass. If its on the inside of a pipe and becomes inaccessible after an initial welding pass, it is possible that some will pop off after the initial weld pass cooling cycle, leaving unprotected, bare metal. So, if using it I would recommend getting all your welding done in one pass with it.

To dislodge the fused (black, or dark molasses colored) residue off a welded surface will take something much more aggressive than simply jarring or "smacking" the object. However the flux that did not get up to melting temperature (and is still in gray powder form) can be *very* easily wiped, or washed off.

I remember using a large, heavy duty (15 amp) milwaukee angle grinder with stainless cup brush to remove the residue off the outside of the exhaust systems I welded with the Solar Flux. And I remember I had to press down pretty hard to remove the solar flux residue, along with the stainless oxide surface off the pipe.

I'd like to try or see a review about the Bradford Derustit "Wonder Gel" pickling acid sometime.

[Weld.com]

We just did a TIG Time episode on this specifically, because we were getting a lot of questions about it. Here it is...

[Rambozo]

Looks like just the ticket for applications where it's impossible or impractical to get rear purge argon. I'll have to give it a try on my next stainless project.

[Kempy]

I use Solar Flux all the time when I weld SST pipes, headers, tanks and things that are usually thin wall and do not want burn thru. I use water and a wire brush to clean it off the flux if necessary most time I just leave it on. The video was very good on how it works it helps from using a lot of Argon gas to be the shield if you are joining thing together and can't get Argon on the backside of the weld like a big 300 gallon tank.

[Paul Moir]

Have you ever tried cleaning it with the pickle juice? If not I'll have to pick some up and give it a try.

I wish they had compared it to a back purge rather than an unshielded mess.

[Kempy]

Have you ever tried cleaning it with the pickle juice? If not I'll have to pick some up and give it a try.

Sounds like a interesting thing to use to clean the flux off will any type of pickle juice work I like Gherkin pickles maybe its juice will work.

[Paul Moir]

Sorry, pickle juice is slang for pickling acid. The stuff you put on stainless welds to strip the surface ferrous and oxides. I've got to use it anyway most the time so if it helped a lot it would make cleanup a one-step process rather than two.

[zedron]

I would be interested in using this when I do exhausts, down pipes, and turbo manifolds. The only issue I would have would be the one mentioned before with getting the residue out when doing manifolds and then applying it in long tube runs in exhaust for example. I use up AR like its going out of style when I do full exhausts and the customer wants it perfect aka back purged.

[DaveO]

I recall reading or hearing about a paper "dam" used as a temporary containment wall for back-purging long tube runs. The idea was to reduce the total cubic argon environment required, and the paper was water soluble so after welding you flush it to remove the dam. Anything like that useable here?

Duh... I'll google it to see...

(edit) Yes, commercially available as "Aquasol" and "Dissolvo".

[Kempy]

I would be interested in using this when I do exhausts, down pipes, and turbo manifolds. The only issue I would have would be the one mentioned before with getting the residue out when doing manifolds and then applying it in long tube runs in exhaust for example. I use up AR like its going out of style when I do full exhausts and the customer wants it perfect aka back purged.

I just blow out whatever is not stuck on with air and let the exhaust do the rest. The exhaust systems with turbo’s systems I wash with water and again let the exhaust do the rest. Sometimes I have to modify the exhaust it takes a lot of time to clean the exhaust carbon out and outside but I have never sent the Solar Flux inside that I put on when I built it. I put the flux on again and weld it up. I think the carbon dust is bigger than the Solar Flux when it builds up on the pipe and comes off. The catalytic converts get so hot it will burn it off also you do not use very much of the flux anyway. I am redoing a turbo system later this week I will take pictures of it.

[zedron]

I just blow out whatever is not stuck on with air and let the exhaust do the rest. The exhaust systems with turbo’s systems I wash with water and again let the exhaust do the rest. Sometimes I have to modify the exhaust it takes a lot of time to clean the exhaust carbon out and outside but I have never sent the Solar Flux inside that I put on when I built it. I put the flux on again and weld it up. I think the carbon dust is bigger than the Solar Flux when it builds up on the pipe and comes off. The catalytic converts get so hot it will burn it off also you do not use very much of the flux anyway. I am redoing a turbo system later this week I will take pictures of it.

Please do as I am very interested to see you technique with this stuff.

[jakeru]

One additional thing worth mentioning if aesthetics are much of a consideration is that some of the solar flux applied on the back side can float around to the front side and solidify as little speckles on the front side of the solidified TIG weld. This is actually visible in Wyatt's video of his completed Solar fluxed TIG weld, and is also typical IME when using it with the TIG process.

(Wyatt - nice arc shots, by the way!)