Welding Tips and Tricks

Has anyone had any experience welding on aluminum that has been furnace brazed? I have been told that the radiators on dirtbikes are furnace brazed when the are built. But it's common to add some bracing or weld up the tanks on them. But it's a real pain in the ass and very difficult to have a good appearance. Some radiators on certain brand and model bikes are way worse to work with than others. I generally use a product called Aluminum Brightener and wire brush to clean them. Then take an air grinder with some 180 grit discs and removed a good amount of the surface and it seemed to help a little.

But is there any suggestions from you aluminum pros? Nothing is as good as clean material to start with.

clayton47 wrote:Has anyone had any experience welding on aluminum that has been furnace brazed? I have been told that the radiators on dirtbikes are furnace brazed when the are built. But it's common to add some bracing or weld up the tanks on them. But it's a real pain in the ass and very difficult to have a good appearance. Some radiators on certain brand and model bikes are way worse to work with than others. I generally use a product called Aluminum Brightener and wire brush to clean them. Then take an air grinder with some 180 grit discs and removed a good amount of the surface and it seemed to help a little.

But is there any suggestions from you aluminum pros? Nothing is as good as clean material to start with.

I have repaired a couple motorcycle radiators, and none of them looked awesome afterwards, some times good enough is as good as it gets.