A surfacing variation in which surfacing material is deposited to achieve the required dimensions. See STANDARD WELDING TERMS. See ah0 BUTTERING, CLADDING, BRONZE SURFACING and HARDFACING.
Buildup, or padding, refers to metal deposited by an arc welding process in which parallel beads are deposited adjacent to one another, and fused to one another as well as to the base metal. It is used for buildup operations, filling in large cavities when heavy sections are being welded, or forming a shape such as a box or lug by the deposition of weld metal. It is very important that each bead be completely fused to adjacent and underlying passes where several layers of metal are deposited.
Beads are normally deposited parallel to the long dimension of the weld or surface being built up. When building up a vertical surface, it is recommended that a series of beads be deposited across the. bottom first, then vertical beads are deposited down from the top to complete the work. If build-up is done on a surface which tapers down to a thin edge, the current must be carefully reduced to avoid destroying the shape of the thin edge.
Two causes of poor results are failing to clean the metal surface thoroughly, and depositing beads too far apart in an attempt to reduce the number of passes required.