A medium coated electrode with Ferro Nickel core wire specially designed for welding cast iron the cold way. The nickel-iron weld deposit does not pick up carbon from the base metal and hence remains ductile, soft and easily machinable, at the same time retaining adequate strength. This permits successful use of the electrode without the necessity of preheating even on large complicated castings. The typical application includes welding and repairing all cast iron components. Successful applications include repair of broken castings, building up of worn surfaces or correcting machine errors on castings and joining cast iron steel. Welding of nodular graphite iron, malleable iron subject to heavy wear.