First Time Welding With Lincoln

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Ok. I got my Lincoln Pro Mig 180 up and running today. I pulled a fence post I have in the yard that I am building a dog lot with and laid out a practice bead on. It was good and was using Lincoln flux core. I was going to weld my wifes swing. My son was hanging from the canopy of the swing a while back and broke the canopy loose on one side from the swing. I tried 2 different times to weld it and could not even get a spark. The swing frame is painted green. I am at a loss here on why it would not spark to weld it. I did use a magnet to check and see if it would stick as some say to do to see if it is weldable. The magnent stuck fine to it. Can anyone tell me why it would not weld this swing frame? Thanks.Whitey
Reply:Originally Posted by WhiteyminOk. I got my Lincoln Pro Mig 180 up and running today. I pulled a fence post I have in the yard that I am building a dog lot with and laid out a practice bead on. It was good and was using Lincoln flux core. I was going to weld my wifes swing. My son was hanging from the canopy of the swing a while back and broke the canopy loose on one side from the swing. I tried 2 different times to weld it and could not even get a spark. The swing frame is painted green. I am at a loss here on why it would not spark to weld it. I did use a magnet to check and see if it would stick as some say to do to see if it is weldable. The magnent stuck fine to it. Can anyone tell me why it would not weld this swing frame? Thanks.Whitey
Reply:Did you grind it down?  If you have a ground clamp over a painted area, it won't work.