Finishing welds

I like the small 90 degree angle grinder with the Rolox discs in different sizes. It can get in tight places and is easy to handle.

I use the same tools as acardon shows. I use the straight grinder or the angle grinder with a 1/16" thick cut off wheel, picking the one that has the best access/angles. Most if not all of the leveling of the weld is done with this setup.

You need to use a hammer and dolly to planish the weld and raise/lower any low/high spots as you level the weld. This is very important.

Once you have the weld bead ground down and the hammer/dolly work done, then you can use a 3" 36 grit roloc style sandpaper disc on a roloc backing pad to get the big scratches out. Then progress to 50 and 80 grit.

The biggest thing is that you need to take each deal individually, and don't just keep grinding/sanding until there's no metal thickness left. If you do that you'll be doing it over and it will be harder than the first time. But sometimes it works out that way until you learn.

I buy my cutoff wheels various places, but most of my roloc pads and discs come from McMaster-Carr. You can spend less, or more, but they have a full line of products and I get my orders in 3 days by UPS ground with no handling fees, just the real UPS shipping cost.