randy, if you use a brakecyl hone like i started to it will clean the tubes up and get rid of the powder coat but if you use it to clean out the weld i think you may end up making the other side of the tube too thin. i think its only 035 tubing. use a dremel on the welds first. the real problem is that the tubes are slightly bent from the welding. i ended up heating mine and straightening them first. they then went together like a hot knife thru butter. kf had suggested i might need to sand part of the bushing thinner but i didnt like that approach. also if you sand the powder coat down, the bushings go on without splitting them like the manual says to. after hours of work mine would not go together until i straightened the tubes. anything will lube the brake hone.