can any body tell me why Nickel based MMAW electrodes (Contains arround 90% Ni.) are usually choose upon gray cast iron as a buttering material before going to actual hardface deposition ?
Nickel fillers are relatively soft, and when diluted by parent material harden only to a limited extent due to the pick-up of iron, as they do not undergo any transformation on cooling. Because they are soft and ductile they are ideal as a buttering layer to absorb contracting stresses of subsequent weld layers.
However high phosphorous and sulphur levels in some grey irons, can contaminate the weld metal leading to solidification cracking.