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Stainless finishing after welding

I work on a shop and we are starting to weld on stainless steel. I need to return its color to stainless steel after electric arc welding has been done. What can I use to return is color? I have been toll, that there is a product that you brush on the welds areas, wait some minutes, and then rinse with water. What is it? Where can I find it?
Thank you for your help.

Carlos Tejada
shop employee - Miami, Florida, USA
2007

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Carlos, I have used a type of product called 'pickling paste' which is a gelled acid product. We bought it from a local weld supply house. Make sure you get a material intended for stainless steel. This product is dangerous to use if you do not follow the safety recommendations and do not use PPE (such as rubber rubber gloves [on eBay or Amazon], face shield [affil links], etc.). Also, if you use this material on a large area, you may need to be concerned about proper ventilation if you use this material on a large surface area. You might want to consider mechanical methods instead, such a using abrasives or glass beading. Thomas Kemp - Erie, Pa. USA Was anticipating the same problem. Found a product called BlueAway which is supposed to remove bluing from motorcycle pipes and stainless steel. Found it after a internet search at a motor cycle parts place for 17.99/2.5oz. Haven't tried it yet but may buy some. Alan Heim welder/fabicator, Greensboro, No. Carolina

A. Hi Carlos,

Pickling Paste can be used and you should be able to find it at a welding supply.

Micheline Forth

Micheline Forth
- Rincon, Georgia USA

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There are three basic ways to remove the weld discoloration from the Heat Affected Zone.

A purely chemical removal takes harsh chemicals, typically a pickle paste as was previously mentioned, usually that is nitric-HF based.

Mechanical removal, i.e. grit blasting, grinding, polishing, buffing, etc.

Electrochemical removal, same basic principle aspolishing but applied locally to the weld where it is needed. A wand electrode can be rigged up yourself with your welder as a current source, and commercial units such as SurFox are also available. Let us know if you would like any help with this.

Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.

McHenry, Illinois

2007