AR500 steel targets are heat treated and high heat can destroy the temper and soften the steel so bullets will cause more damage to the steel. I never weld on my AR500 targets for this reason. I made a small error and was welding on a mild steel 1/4" thick plate I had one of my AR500 plates under this mild steel I was welding on. The mild steel was red hot and directly in contact with the AR500. When I noticed this it had turned the white spray paint on the target a slight green color but it was mostly intact. The mild steel had a black powder coat on it and that bubbled or melted off the back side of it where it was touching the AR500 target and is now stuck on the AR500 steel. Do you think this area of the AR500 was soften up because of the heat coming off the mild steel? I hope it is still just as hard so it does not crater in those spots from a .223 round hitting it.
The areas are circled in red and the black spots are melted powder coat. Think the AR500 was damaged from this heat?
The areas are circled in red and the black spots are melted powder coat. Think the AR500 was damaged from this heat?