Had a chat with a welder that changed how I look at rust repairs

I was talking to this old school welder named Dave at a shop in Portland last month. He told me he never uses a grinder to cut out rust, he just uses a plasma cutter and a wire brush. Said grinding pushes the rust deeper into the metal and you end up chasing it. I always thought a grinder was the only way to go, but after trying his method on a Ford F-150 rocker panel, the repair held way better. Has anyone else found a weird trick that goes against common shop wisdom?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.fiona4h ago

Man that International guy's method with the rosebud tip is wild but it makes total sense. You're so right about the grinder being the default just because it's loud and feels productive (I catch myself doing that way too often). The part about heat converting rust to stable slag really sticks with me because I've chased rust spots for days after grinding, thinking I got it all only to have it pop back up. It's honestly kind of refreshing to hear someone challenge the standard shop wisdom like that, makes you question how many other "rules" we follow without thinking. Dave and that Michigan guy sound like the kind of old school dudes who actually understand the metal they're working with, not just the tools.

finleycooper8h ago

Dave from Portland knows his stuff. I talked to a guy up in Michigan who restores old International trucks and he swears by using a torch with a rosebud tip to burn out the rust before welding. He said the heat actually converts the rust into a kind of stable slag that you can wire brush off, and it stops the rust from creeping back under the new metal. Tried it on a 1969 Scout and the patch panel hasn't bubbled up in three years. Makes you wonder if we all just default to the grinder because it's loud and feels like work.

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