Tried a new weld prep paste last week and it cost me half a day

I saw this stuff online that said it would cut my cleaning time before a pressure weld by 75%, so I spent $45 on a can. It left a weird residue that actually made my first two welds fail the dye test, so I had to grind them out and start over. Has anyone else had a bad run with a 'time saver' product that just made more work?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy_owens2mo ago

My shop bought a batch of those quick-set epoxy patches last year. They never fully cured, which led to a slow leak in a coolant line. We ended up having to strip and redo the whole run, a real mess.

spencerw7214d ago

Read a test report from some materials engineering blog that tested those quick-set epoxies across different temps and humidity levels. The cheap ones had issues with moisture during curing, which lines up with coolant systems always having some condensation. They never got hard enough and ended up staying rubbery, which explains the slow weeping leak. Most of those budget patching compounds cut corners on the hardener ratio to save money and shorten cure times. The proper two-part marine grade stuff is more expensive but actually sets right. Your supplier probably saved a few bucks per unit and passed the problem down the line.

perez.christopher2mo ago

Did you ever get a refund from the supplier?