Sadly, I did clean it... apparently this type of anodized aluminum is one of the most challenging materials to weld. May try using a red tip tungsten tomorrow (used a green tip today). In the end, whether bolted together or welded, I love the rigidity of this material and think it’ll be perfect for the spray booth.
I will reach out to my brother and ask the best way to clean it
I will reach out to my brother and ask the best way to clean it
He said to try and clean it with a stainless steel brush / Sand it and clean it again with a new brush
He said to try and clean it with a stainless steel brush / Sand it and clean it again with a new brush
I’ll give that a go tomorrow and also see if changing the tungsten to red helps... thank Auggie for me! 
@ericastar76, You probably read this already, but a quick Google search took me to this link - Aluminum Workshop: The trouble with welding anodized aluminum - The Fabricator.
He summarized - "As a general recommendation, I advise you not to weld over anodized coatings. Instead, use a sanding or grinding disc to remove the anodizing in the area you want to weld." He based this on 3 factors -
1 - Anodized coatings of aluminum oxide produced with chemical baths and electricity are as much as 1000 times thicker than naturally occurring anodized coatings on raw aluminum and is very porous and absorbs water which interferes with the welding process and usually results in a "porous, poorly flowing weld."
2 - Thick anodized coatings serve as electrical insulators, complicating starting and maintaining a stable arc. Really thick coatings may actually prevent establishing an arc.
3 - Aluminum melts at 1200F, but aluminum oxide melts at 3700F.
This is the first time I've read this, but it makes me think the harder coating requires the higher amperages you mentioned to start the arc and the temps get so high compared to aluminum's normal melting temp that it is easy to melt through the pieces being welded. A stainless brush may not be enough to break thru a heavy anodized coating, so the link's author's suggestion top sand or grind off the coating makes sense for easier welding.
I've always wished I knew how to weld, so I will be following your posts to gain some more insight into what is involved. Good luck and I'm sure you'll get there.
The author of the piece works for Lincoln Electric, so I assume he knows hist stuff. He mentioned an alternative, saying "Or you can use a rather specialized technique that can produce good results in some cases. It requires quite a lot of practice to perfect and is used only in a very few industries, so I won’t go into detail here. " I wonder if he was referring to bump welding?
Squeezed in a little time to add my first shelf to my cabinet.
Been practicing everyday and think I’m one step closer to stacking some sweet ass dimes! 
I lowered the amperage a bit and switched to purple tungsten (all I can say is WOW, what a difference in the overall welding experience the purple tungsten makes). TIG WELDING IS THE TITS!!!
^^^^ nothing made sense to me, except "TITS"... SO I LIKED IT. 
Been practicing everyday and think I’m one step closer to stacking some sweet ass dimes!
You’re getting there. Keep practicing.
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Been practicing everyday and think I’m one step closer to stacking some sweet ass dimes!
Yep....you've got some pretty nice Canadian dimes stacked up!!! I think I even see a couple Mexican Pesos sprinkled in there!! Now time to stack some US dimes!!! 
I’m moving along at a snails pace, but made some headway tonight. Still need to add a rack for my brad point and standard bits, before I can call this cabinet complete.
*On a side note, even though the racks are made to fit on the smaller cleats inside the cabinet, I can still conveniently remove and rest them on the larger cleats on the walls. This is handy should I need to temporarily have some bits in another area of the shop.
Extremely sweet setup. Nice work!!!
Added a spot to hold a few hand planes.
A hand plane??????
Why do it by hand when machines can do it faster and better????
You do have a machine that will do it for you, don't you?????
When you're all setup are you planning a Slingshot version of this @sideslinger? 
Display MoreA hand plane??????
Why do it by hand when machines can do it faster and better????
You do have a machine that will do it for you, don't you?????
Lol! I have my planer and jointer, but there are situations when hand tools can’t be beat. Hand tools are often better for finer work, that large tools just can’t get to. You can never have enough hand planes.
When you're all setup are you planning a Slingshot version of this @sideslinger?
That would be awesome to try! 
Maybe not full size though.
My day job has me SUPER BUSY these days. However, I did manage to squeeze in a little time tonight and bolt together all the scrap aluminum for my powder coating booth (if you can’t weld it... bolt it)!
Once the caster mounts are cut and installed, I’m going shopping for an oven to sit inside the base. Since Aluminum is great at dispersing heat, this design should work out nicely!
When you're all setup are you planning a Slingshot version of this @sideslinger?
Images
Ah, yes. The first Harley to not leak oil.
Images
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Ah, yes. The first Harley to not leak oil.
WRONG!!!!!
When this masterpiece was produced all the wood was soaked in linseed oil prior to being cut, shaped, and carved. It was done in an attempt to keep it from splitting, warping etc. as the work of art aged. Till this very day oil seeps and drips from it and like most harley's it's usually right under the engine area! LMFAO
Ya'll know that is all a lie but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it was still funny!
WRONG!!!!!
When this masterpiece was produced all the wood was soaked in linseed oil prior to being cut, shaped, and carved. It was done in an attempt to keep it from splitting, warping etc. as the work of art aged. Till this very day oil seeps and drips from it and like most harley's it's usually right under the engine area! LMFAO
Ya'll know that is all a lie but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it was still funny!
Not so funny if you owned one. Some time ago now, but I think my original leaker did have an oil filter. I guess the patents expired on oil filtration, so they snuck it in. At least I had oil recirculation. Another fantastic innovation.
