Acetone and a rag for de greasing. Also removing mill scale would probably help too. All depends on how much time and resources your willing to dedicate to it.

Volts up, standards down. Send it

I mean, not really tbh. If you wanna be professional and have nice work then yeah you should degrease and take off the mill scale. But if the boss says it doesnt matter then it doesnt matter.

Mild is pretty dirty, the oils break down into carbons and hydrocarbons, some of it boils off and some of it just gets cooked into the steel.

Most things left will create a gas thats not great for you. I’d wipe as best you can and/or use respirator

Acetone or isopropyl to remove the wd40, wire wheel to remove the scale. Cleaning your weld surface (bright shiny metal) makes better welds. Stick can burn through scale, sure, but mig and especially tig want a clean surface

Goofy, weld some aluminum and you’ll learn the importance of a clean work pieces. Yes I’d use rubbing alcohol or acetone to remove the wd-40 and whatever grease. And as for millscale it all depends I weld spray arc and it absolutely matters especially with a pt test or xray. It makes for a cleaner weld a better weld id say. Depends on the process and what your needs are.

Acetone usually does the trick for me

Straight acetone is all you really need. Mill scale isn’t really an issue for mig.

WD-40 actually stands for “Welding Dimes - 40”. It actually helps the weld … /s

Im not a shop welder but a quick pass with a wire wheel cleanes up most oily stuff and millscale for Mig

Depends on how much wd is left by the time you weld. I find that a wipe with a clean rag is enough a lot of the time and I’ll use some acetone with it if I’m feeling fancy or things seem grimey.

That’s short circuit mig and some stick. Spray transfer or tig needs more cleaning.

Sandblasting is also something to consider. Just a dusting will help. But that’ll likely be more than you want to do.

Also also, soaking in Evap-O-Rust could be another way. Reqires being able to submerge the parts and let them sit. Then wiping.

You don’t want a cleaner you want isopropyl alcohol cleaning most cleaners leave residue that off gases into the welds

Some acetone will do the trick. Wire wheel helps too

Always a good idea to clean your metal, but you don’t always have to. At work I’ve punched through the mill scale no issue with no contamination issues. But for a clean weld, yeah it’s a good idea to.

For the WD-40 I’m not sure and I’m curious too.

Burn it real hot and move fast if its not too thin 🤷‍♂️

Brake parts cleaner and a rag, then a grinding disc

Brake cleaner and rags is all we every used. Between that and a lick with a sanding pad (not a flapper)

Mill scale shouldn’t have any effect on your weld, but you definitely don’t want chemicals on your materials. Brake cleaner will kill you, and galvanized steel will make you sick!