Best Flux Cored Wire for Mild Steel And Banish Your Welding Frustrations

You welded with that awful sample piece of flux core wire that came with your flux core welder.

It stuttered. It popped. Stopped feeding. Then the wire got in an all mighty tangle.

And you’re in no doubt.

There’s got to be better than that.

And there is.

Banish your frustrations and buy yourself something better.

Pick one of the best.

Your 4 Best Flux Core Wires For Mild Steel

No. 1 And Winner

INE INETUB BA71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire

Best For Galvanized Steel

Blue Demon E71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire

Best For Sheet Metal

Lincoln Electric Inner Shield NR-211-MP Mild Steel Flux Core Wire

Also Worth Thinking About

Hobart E71T-11 Mild Steel Flux Core Wire

Read on to discover why these wires are the top picks. And choose the perfect one for you and your key welding projects.

*Disclosure: You’ll find this article contains affiliate links. And at no extra cost to you this site earns a commissions through these links should you decide to buy.

1. INE INETUB BA71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire Insiders View

See INETUB BA71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire And Pricing

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Choose the INETUB flux core welding wire for mild steel. And you’ll find yourself using a wire that’s easy to use. And you’ll have a flux core mild steel wire for when you want a trouble free weld.

You’ll see there are over 250 people who’ve used the wire on Amazon. People who took the time to leave their glowing feedback.

And that means there were many more who were too busy welding with the INETUB wire to write their feedback

You’ll notice that there’s a tiny amount of unfavorable feedback. From where some people found the INETUB welding wire didn’t suit their make of flux core welder.

And there was the odd wire nesting off the spool issue.

Vital Statistics …

You can buy your INETUB in wire diameter sizes of 0.030 inch for your thinner gauges of mild steel. Or 0.035 inch for your thicker gauges of low carbon steel.

You can buy a 2 lb. (4 inch) spool of INETUB. Great when you’ve a flux core welder that’ll only take the smaller spool sizes.

Or a 10 lb. (8 inch) spool for your flux core welder that can hold larger spools.

You’ll find that it’s an all positions wire.

What does that mean?

You can weld on the flat, vertical or overhead.

Though you should note that INETUB is for single pass welding.

So what?

When you’re gasless welding 1/4 inch mild steel and thicker with a home welder. You’ll need to bevel your weld joint and make more than one welding pass.

If this is the welding you’re doing then pass this wire by. Because the INETUB can’t do multiple passes.

INE made INETUB to be low spatter. And give you easy slag removal. Great for your after weld tidy up.

If you don’t already have great welding gloves. Then you should have a think about getting a pair of US Forge 400 welding Gloves with your INETUB.

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2. Blue Demon E71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire Insiders View

See Blue Demon E71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire and Pricing

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Considered the best flux core wire for galvanized steel.

When you pick the Blue Demon E71TGS you’ll find a well priced. And popular welding wire for when you’re welding galvanized mild steel.

And you’ll see there are a lot of people who love using it.

Most are happy that they could get their weld repairs done with minimal fuss.

Any unhappy users like the users of INETUB were at a small level. And their comments were about the wire not gelling with their specific flux core welder.

Or they felt there was more spatter than there should be.

And some had poor wire feeding from their spool.

Most were very happy with the Blue Demon E71TGS flux core mild steel wire.

When you look at the Blue Demon flux core wire you’ll find mild steel diameter sizes of 0.030 inch. Or 0.035 inch for your thicker gauges of mild steel.

You can buy a 1 lb. spool. Which is a small spool size but perfect when you only have a small repair job to do.

You’ll also find 2 lb. spools and 10 lb. spools.

Positions you can weld in. Horizontal, Flat, Vertical and Overhead.

It’s an all positions mild steel flux core wire.

And like the INETUB the Blue Demon E71TGS flux core supports single pass welding only.

You may find it a good idea to buy some more contact tips. Or the Cantesco Nozzle Tip Dip. For protecting your welding tip and nozzle from spatter.

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3. Lincoln Electric Inner Shield NR-211-MP Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire Insiders View

See Lincoln Electric Inner shield NR-211-MP Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire And Pricing

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Considered the best flux core wire for sheet metal.

Though you’ll find lower numbers of comments on Amazon on this wire. You’ll find, the NR-211-MP flux core great for gasless welding of mild steel sheet metal.

The NR-211-MP flux core feeds smoothly in many welders.

But when you’ve a Lincoln welder that’ll weld flux core. You can match your Lincoln welder with wire made by the manufacturer for your welder.

Your Inner shield NR-211-MP wire is highly regarded for both Lincoln welders. And non Lincoln welders.

You can use it to produce strong robust welds on your mild steel metal sheets. And on your project pieces.

And those users who dislike the INETUB or the Blue Demon flux core wires. Tend to get on well with the Lincoln Electric Inner Shield.

You can buy the Inner Shield in wire diameter sizes of 0.030 or 0.035 inch.

Inner Shield spool weights available: 1 lb. spool. Or the larger 10 lb. (8 inch) spools.

It’s a pity there isn’t a spool size between the 1 lb. spool and the 10 lb. spool sizes.

If you find you run through your 1 lb. spool too quickly. You’ve no choice but to jump up to the 10 lb. spool. Assuming your flux core welder can hold the larger spool sizes.

Welding Positions: Buy and you’ll have an all positions flux core mild steel wire. And one that supports single and multi pass welding. You’ll need that when you’re welding 1/4 inch steel and above on your home flux core welder.

4. Hobart E71T-11 Mild Steel/Carbon Steel Flux Cored Wire Insiders View

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Another great branded flux core welding wire for mild steel. And low carbon steel.

The Hobart E71T-11 has been around for years and users love it.

Especially if you’ve a Hobart welder. And you want to go with wire the makers have designed to flow through your welder.

You’ll find good solid feedback on the E71T-11 flux core wire.

And apart from some odd shipping problems.

And where the user just didn’t get on with the wire in their welder.

It’s a wire to pick when you want to take pride in your welds.

You’ll find wire diameter sizes in 0.030 inch. And 0.035 inch for your thicker mild steels.

You can buy the E71T-11 in 2lb spools (4 inch). Or in 10 lb. spools (8 inch).

You can relax if you want a wire that allows you to weld in all positions.

Because the Hobart E71T11 can do just that. And you can weld up your thicker gauge 1/4 inch and above welding projects. Because you can weld single pass and multi pass.

You can think about teaming your Hobart E71T-11 with some Hobart Nozzle Gel.

And if you don’t already have a pair, get the Hobart Multi-function Pliers for cutting your wire and cleaning your MIG welder’s nozzle.

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The One That Nearly Made The 4 Best Mild Steel Flux Core Wire List

The one wire that nearly made the grade is the Forney E71TGS gasless flux cored wire.

Forney E71TGS Mild Steel Flux Cored Wire

See the Forney E71TGS Flux Cored Wire And Pricing.

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Because you’ll find a quality wire. One that may make your cheaper flux core only welder work better than you expect.

And it’s worth using, particularly when you’ve a Forney flux core welder.

Because the Forney makes the E71TGS wire for its flux core welders.

You’ll find that all these flux core mild steel wires come in larger than 0.035 inch diameter sizes.

And larger than 10 lb. spool sizes. But this article is on the smaller more popular sizes. Those used in the welders bought by the home workshop user.

Tell Me Why These Are the Best Flux Cored Wires For Mild Steel?

1. Because they’re branded products.

When you buy no name unbranded mild steel flux core wire you leave yourself open to pot luck.

You may get some good welding wire. Or you may not.

Unbranded wire manufacturers tend to have poor quality control.

And then you’ll find the wire’s chemical make up is not consistent all the way through the spool.

You then get feeding issues because the diameter of the wire isn’t quite the same in all parts of the spool.

2. Because you’ll have feedback on your mild steel flux core wire.

And these flux core wires have a good reputation in the market. Just because you weld at home doesn’t mean your projects are not important.

3. Because they’re great for beginner flux core welders.

When you lack skills good quality wire is more forgiving.

4. Because these flux core wires are a boon when you’ve an entry level flux core only welder.

Because where those welders lack in power. Quality flux core mild steel wire up rates the weld you’ll get.

5. Because gasless self shielded flux cored mild steel wires mean you grab your welder.

Hook up some power and you’re ready to weld.

Welder Welding Mild Steel With Flux Core

Do You Pick 030 Or 035 Flux Core Mild Steel Wire For Your Project?

And it’s a tricky decision.

Because it depends on what you’re welding. And the Amps your flux core welder can output. When you’re not sure what size of wire you need. Take a look at my article here and it’ll lead you through how to decide which.

Will These Flux Core Wires Weld Mild Steel That’s Galvanized?

Yes.

All these gasless mild steel flux core wires will weld galvanized. And zinc coated steel.

You’ll see the galvanization burn off your mild steel as you weld. It’s burnt up into the smoke and fumes you see coming off your weld.

And the scavengers in the flux will put the galvanization into your welding slag.

Welding slag that you tap off at the end of your weld.

And the best pick out of all the wires for welding galvanized steel is the Blue Demon E71TGS.

But no matter which of the mild steel flux core wire you choose. Remember that when you weld mild steel that’s galvanized. The steel won’t keep its galvanization at your weld point.

When you’ve welded your repair. Or completed your project piece you’ll need to protect your welded joint from rusting.

By painting or spray galvanize to protect your finished weld.

Keep your head out of the weld smoke when welding galvanized mild steel. Or zinc coated steel.

You really don’t want those fumes in your lungs. Or you’ll feel pretty yucky the next day.

And when you’d like to find out more about flux core welding galvanized mild steel. You can take a look at this article here all about it.

Lincoln Electric NR-211-MP Wire In Welder

Getting Ready To Weld Your Mild Steel Sheet Metal With Flux Core Wire

All the flux core wires for mild steel will weld sheet metal.

But the best is the Lincoln Electric Inner Shield NR-211-MP.

It’s multi pass capable wire. Ideal for your thicker sheets of sheet metal.

But whichever of the flux core wire you choose to weld your mild steel sheet metal with, remember that.

Although flux cored wire welding is more tolerant of ‘dirty’ mild steel.

And by that I mean metal pieces and sheet metal that’s galvanized. Or mild steel that is rusty. Or has oil or paint on the surface.

Do yourself a favor and clean off as much rust, paint and oil from the weld joint that you can. It can also help to grind off much of the galvanization at your weld point.

And you do that by using either a metal brush or grinder on your mild steel.

And don’t forget to clean where you put your grounding clamp on your mild steel repair. Or project piece.

The cleaner your mild steel metal is the better your weld.

And clean the point you ground to. For a smoother weld.

Your welding is an electrical process. And so good electrical connections will get you closer to a successful weld.

YouTube Video Comparing Two Flux Core Mild Steel Welding Wires

You should have a look at this YouTube video.

You’ll find it’s a valuable insight on comparing a mild steel flux core wire from Harbor Freight. To Lincoln Electric Innershield the wire that’s the best for sheet metal.

You’ll see how the quality of the Lincoln NR-211-MP wins out.

Harbor Freight Flus Core Wire Vs Lincoln Flux Core wire part 2 of 2

Video Credit: weld.com

What Does The Mild Steel Code On The Flux Core Wire Mean?

You may be curious to find out what all those letters and numbers on the mild steel flux core welding wire means.

You’ve seen that the mild steel flux core winner INETUB had 71TGS on it.

And the Blue Demon Wire has E71TGS in its name.

But what does that all mean?

Here’s your chance to find out.

The flux core welding specs and standards are set by the American Welding Society (AWS).

So let’s look at the Blue Demon mild steel E71TGS flux core wire.

The letter E means the wire is an electrode.

It’s a continuous fed wire fed welding wire through your flux core welder. And it acts as the electrode.

What does that mean?

Electricity passes through your welding wire melting it so that it’s eaten up by your weld pool.

The number 7 means your flux core mild steel wire tensile strength is up to 70,000 pounds per square inch.

The number 1 means means your welding wire is an all positions wire. So you can weld on the vertical, flat, horizontal and overhead.

The letter T means this wire is a flux cored wire

The letters GS means your flux core wire is a general wire made only for single pass welding.

You’ll also see the numbers -11 on the flux core wire spool label. Or sometimes part of the name. Like on the Hobart flux core mild steel wire has -11 as part of its name.

This tells you how you use your flux core wire.

DC polarity. It’s an all positions welding wire and it’s multi pass.

How To Store Your Mild Steel Flux Core Wire

And you’ll want to know this when you’ve bought a spool and done some welding. And you find you’ve got most of it left unused.

If you’re not planning on welding for a while it’s best to take your mild steel flux core wire out of your welder.

Take your wire out carefully so that you don’t have it pinging off your spool. Keep it under tension.

Why take your wire out?

Because you need to protected your flux core wire from the air. Especially moisture in the air.

Mild steel flux core wire has mild steel on the outside of the wire. And moisture getting to your flux core wire will it rust over time. Your wire sitting inside your flux core welder won’t stop this happening.

The last thing you’re going to want is wire stuck to wire, or your spool. Or rusting in your hose.

You’ll have wire feed problems and difficulty striking an arc when you’re next ready to weld.

Take your wire out of your welder. And put in in a plastic bag, sealed to keep out damp. And store your mild steel flux core wire where it’s sitting at a temperature like where you weld.

Because when you move your flux core wire wire from a very cold storage place. To your much warmer weld site can cause condensation inside the packaging.

Condensation or rust will cause stuttering of your arc and inconsistent welding.

You’ll find it’s best to treat your welding wire well.

When you’ve bought quality flux core welding wire for your mild steel you’ll want the best out of it.