Composite welding wire and method of manufacturing

A composite welding wire for fusion welding of components manufactured of superalloys, the composite weld wire comprises:

• a) a coated core wire configured for fusion welding of components manufactured of superalloys;
• b) the coating includes a surface layer applied to the core wire in a green condition and bonded to the core wire;
• c) the surface layer includes alloying elements which act to depress the melting point of a weld pool during welding, the alloying elements selected from a combination of B and Si in the surface layer, wherein the combination has a total bulk content of B and Si in representing 0.5 to 4.0 wt. % of the composite welding wire, wherein the boron and silicon alloying elements reduce the melting temperature and increase the solidification range of the weld pool and adapted to minimize the incidence of weld cracking compared to welding without the coating;
• and
• d) wherein the green condition surface layer comprises more than 80% wt. % of the bulk content of the composite wire of the alloying elements selected from the combination of B and Si.