Which color code represents pure tungsten for GTAW electrodes?

• A. Green
• B. Yellow
• C. Red
• D. Brown

Answer: (A)

Color coding on GTAW tungsten electrodes shows what the electrode is made of. Green designates pure tungsten with no alloying elements. That purity means the arc behaves in a straightforward way and the electrode doesn’t contribute alloying elements to the weld, which is exactly what you want when you need a clean, uncontaminated arc. The other colors correspond to alloyed tungsten (such as thorium- or cerium/lanthanum-containing varieties) that are used to tailor arc characteristics for specific applications, but they are not pure tungsten. So green is the indicator for pure tungsten.