How To Weld And Patch Auto Sheet Metal

The best two electrodes for welding auto body sheet metal is either ceriated tungsten or thoriated tungsten.

How to weld and patch auto sheet metal.

To obtain the best results while mig welding sheet metal proper fitment and cleanliness of the metal are essential. See all 13 photos with the bottom layer welded the next patch can be tack welded in. Ditch a 1 8 inch tungsten electrode for something much smaller like 1 16 inch tungsten. I then used the templates to trace out the patch panels on some sheet metal.

Mig or metal inert gas welding aka gas metal arc welding or gmaw also uses a gas shield and filler material however in this case the filler is a wire fed directly through the welder. Once complete the welds will be ground flush being careful not to thin the metal on either side of the weld. Every restoration that passes through mcr needs some sort of sheet metal work that involves welding in new pieces so we thought we would show you how we join body panels together. First off never overlap seams always butt weld.

That makes this a one handed process. So you can keep the other hand free for manipulating your materials and other tools. Tack welds are simply small welds that barely penetrate the metal and aren t pushed or pulled to form a bead. After cutting and fitting the new panel you are now ready to weld the patch panel in place.

The proper way to do this is to do a series of tack. Second never stitch weld you ll warp the panels beyond repair. 840 2570 l 840 2570 r 129 99 each from auto metal direct will replace the rotted out sections on our e body project. Tack welding is the best way to hold the metal in place before you fully weld it to the original metal.

Ideally there should be a 1 32 gap between the patch and the body panel. This will hold it in place and allow you to weld it properly. I used a piece of pvc pipe a vice mount miniature metal break and body hammer kit. These left and right trunk floor extensions part no.

Because it will have you a lot more control over the whole process and it is more forgiving in case you do anything wrong. After slicing the patches out with a cutoff wheel next came the bending hammer and dolly session until the patches matched the holes and fit snug and flush into the flanged seat. Take some time to make your patch a perfect fit.