I will be welding in a floor pan on my '91 SSP Mustang soon and need to protect the interior and surrounding area as best as possible. I do not trust the HF ones. What's everyone using these days?
Fiberglass blanket is a good start, check local welding supplier or McMaster Carr.
If its hyper critical some old towels that you get wet and then wring damp are a great backer to the fiberglass. Heck even a cardboard backer is helpful but its something you have to watch with heat concerns.
I mean, I use the HF blanket to do some welding on my motorcycle the other day, and there were no issues. I'm not sure what there is to not trust about it. The blanket seems completely fine to me.
But as mentioned, if you're worried about heat affecting other parts, the blanket really won't help. You'll need to put damp rags on metal components you do not want getting hot.
I mean, I use the HF blanket to do some welding on my motorcycle the other day, and there were no issues. I'm not sure what there is to not trust about it. The blanket seems completely fine to me.
Sometimes you just don't know. Based on the failure rate and one time use of HF products it leaves a distinct possibility of issues.
It could contain asbestos or other unlisted toxic material who knows. Or could have been produced in Wuhan.
I have had one for years never been out of its plastic bag.
The red dye in the rags it comes out, they stopped dying pistachio nuts red due to toxicity of the dye wonder if they use the same dye?
i have 2 medium sized Tillman ones that my welding supply had because they carry Tillman gloves. I don't think ive ever hard any problems with it but they also don't get used a ton. I have used a few HF ones before, one seemed a lot heavier duty than another one, but neither had any issues, and theyre cheap enough that I don't feel bad if I have to cut one up and make it smaller to snake into a dash or something temporarily.
The old asbestos ones worked but, of course, now forbidden. The HF ones, and other fiberglass ones, work best if they are vertical so sparks bounce off of them. If laid down horizontally, pretty much anything will burn through as the sparks lay in.
I have had **** blankets and good ones. The **** blankets are all gone. The good ones, at most welding supply places...will take 3000 degrees...for a while. Never burnt through a good one...but you should not have the molten hot material directLy on it either.
Buy once...get a good blanket. I use mine for all my welding that is not done directly on my welding table.