should I weld myself

[TimF]

I was going to put this in the custom Fabrication section but its a newb question I guess. I have some rear panel rust and some on the inside door frame. Would it, well not cheaper, but better to have a body shop do it, or, buy a welder and sheet metal and do it myself. I have NEVER welded in my life, but I figured it is just sheet metal on a car panel.

 

[bastarddsm]

It's a toss up. If you want to learn, get the welder and do it yourself. If you want it fixed take it somewhere.

 

[T is for TURBO]

If you want it to look good, take it to a shop.
If you don't want to do more damage, take it to a shop.
If you don't know how to weld, take it to a shop.

The shee metal on cars is rather thin. Welding thin metal can be tricky.
There is definatly a skill to it that shouldn't be over looked.

 

[Anubis_4_99]

Sorry but i have to disagree with you.

This is not the time to decide you want to learn to weld. You will burn holes through it, and possibly create more damage and more work for the shop you eventually take it to.

I'm a welder by trade and i still have some difficulty not burning through sheet metal while doing the random side project.

If you wanna learn how to weld, great, go grab a welder, some stock steel and start practicing. But dont try welding on your car right out of the gate.

*edit*

meant for bastarddsm

 

[Colt4G63 also]

Here's the real question: Do you know a shop that you can trust to do it right? The more I see these days, the more I would rather teach myself than pay anyone to do any kind of project. If I knew someone really well it would be one thing, but I might just teach myself to put a new roof on my house before I chance letting some yahoos do it for me.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Example: My next door neighbor had the concrete redone on the side of their house by professionals three times in the last year. They are now in a legal battle with the original contractor.

 

[mindset]

#### it do it yourself. Practice a bit on some scrap. Judge if you think you'll be able to do it or not... and decide if you want to take it to a shop or not. Welders will come in handy in the long run as well.

 

[RipperXX]

"Should I weld myslef" Well, I know I wouldn't try that. Flesh and metal don't seem to fuse to well.

To answer your question though, if you have never welded before in your life. No, do not try this on your own. Your saying "it's just sheet metal"...well just so happens thin sheet metal is much harder to weld than thicker things. Also since it's an automotive application your going to want it to look good, which means not warping the sheet metal from to much heat from whatever kind of welder you use.

oxy/accetaline torch is almost impossible to use for this application and have it look anywhere near decent, simply too much heat in too broad of an area, it's not pin point enough.

Mig, Mig will work fine if you know what your doing / have the welder speed and amperage setup correctly for what your doing, basicly it's just a shit ton of tac welds until you have a complete weld around the area your replacing. You just have to take your time, and jump from one side to the other in a criss cross pattern so you don't put to much heat into the sheet metal and warp it.

Stick/arc rofl yea um not for this kind of application...intended more for thick heavy stuff.

Tig, tig is best for damn near anything but there very pricey and hard to use.



In short, yea just take it to an auto body shop, sure it will cost more, but it will actually come out looking good. OR if you really want to do it yourself and think you can, take a welding class, get a MIG welder and some scrap sheet metal etc. and practice, going to also need some decent tools to do the cutting, potential shaping of the sheet metal etc. Going to need a grinder to smooth down the spot welds flush, do some sanding, throw some bondo over it, sand, and repeat until smooth and flat, prime and paint.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

Here's another fine example from just yesterday: My friend buys a GST a couple weeks ago, and brings it to my shop to look it over. I tell him he needs ball joints, and that he should check with Mitsubishi to see if they are still covered under recall.

Turns out they are still covered under recall, but Transitowne Mitsubishi looks at it, and says they are (their words) "fine", so they won't be replacing them, but they did slather sealer on the bottoms of all of them. WTF

He brings it back, and I have to produce a film, showing the tards how the ball joints are bad. Mind you when you bounce the car, the driver side front one creaks loudly. They blame it on something else.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Click to see video.^^

 

[nuclearr]

I learned to weld replacing a section of quarter panel on my old 94 BMW 530i. Don't use an arc get a mig welder. Yes I had some burn through. Take your time only weld small sections and let it cool before you start again.

 

[TimF]

I guess I'll pass on doing it my self, I figured I could at least cut the metal out myself and maybe save money, we have the tools for that already.

 

[Jon91TSi]

Low heat, thin wire (DO NOT use flux core on sheet metal), and argon are a must. Although I wouldn't recommend learning to weld on sheet metal, to each his own. Also, if you're purchasing a welder don't cheap out. You'll be in to one for a good 600-1000 all said and done for a decent mig with a regulator and bottle.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

I'm actually welding the quarters on my 93 Accord (winter beater) now. Not now, now, but whenever I have free time. Definately get a mig welder that's set up to use gas. You'll want to cut away all the rusted metal, so you're welding to good steel. Remove anything that's going to ignite in the direct vicinity, unplug your ECU (just in case), clean the metal before you weld, and make your patch fit as perfectly as possible BEFORE you start to weld.

Harbor freight sells a pneumatic flanger/punch for pretty cheap. I've been using it on mine, and it works pretty well for the $20-$30 I think I spent on it.

 

[TimF]

, if you're purchasing a welder don't cheap out. You'll be in to one for a good 600-1000 all said and done for a decent mig with a regulator and bottle.

HAHA i was going to buy a 150$ welder from work, If I pay that much I might as well go to a shop

 

[phunny]

Here's another fine example from just yesterday: My friend buys a GST a couple weeks ago, and brings it to my shop to look it over. I tell him he needs ball joints, and that he should check with Mitsubishi to see if they are still covered under recall.

Turns out they are still covered under recall, but Transitowne Mitsubishi looks at it, and says they are (their words) "fine", so they won't be replacing them, but they did slather sealer on the bottoms of all of them. WTF

He brings it back, and I have to produce a film, showing the tards how the ball joints are bad. Mind you when you bounce the car, the driver side front one creaks loudly. They blame it on something else.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Click to see video.^^

Go back with him and let them have it... That's bs and he could be hurt or killed if/when that fails...

 

[97tal420a]

if you have to as yourself if you should weld it just take it to a shop...though if you do it yourself and it looks good youll be happier with end result

 

[Achelea]

Hard part about welding sheet metal is keeping the pieces at the right temps. Stuff like aluminum is hard to weld cause it dissipates heat so fast, you end up with hot section your welding and the rest of the piece is cold, and you get warping. :/ Aircraft aluminum. Oh Joy.

It's a bit of an art form. Weld scrap metal together and start making brackets and shelves and such to get practice. When you wanna go to thinner metal, try with small pieces and work your way up.

One more suggestion: A good set of leather welding gloves will save your hands. And don't pick up a freshly welded piece.... It hurts... @.@

 

[steve]

The problem with letting a shop repair the rust you have is cost. It doesn't take much time before it's cheaper to buy a better shell.

 

[TimF]

I was just going to solder it

But I dont want to get a new shell, this car was given to me by my moms boyfriend with hopes that I was going to restore it. Thats why I dont want a swap to another shell or sell the car at some of the decent offers I got. Besides I love the body on Look on this one and who does not like purple on silver?

 

[yeti-gvr4]

I was just going to solder it

huh? was that serious

 

[TSi Kid]

Take it to a shop, if you do it it will probably end up looking of poor quality.

 

[Paching]

I was just going to solder it

But I dont want to get a new shell, this car was given to me by my moms boyfriend with hopes that I was going to restore it. Thats why I dont want a swap to another shell or sell the car at some of the decent offers I got. Besides I love the body on Look on this one and who does not like purple on silver?

No need to bust his balls, he meant "cauterize" haha

 

[TimF]

huh? was that serious

no not really, I got the Idea when someone came into my store (i work at a hardware store) and asked what solder gun to use to fix his lawnmower,

 

[98mitsubishigst]

I had strut tower rust when i built my first engine.. so while i was waiting for machine shop, i got a welder and cut the rust out of the tower and welded.. looked damn near new.. this was my first time welding as well

 

[GSLENK]

"Should I weld myslef" Well, I know I wouldn't try that. Flesh and metal don't seem to fuse to well.

You beat me to it...

Also if you do do it yourself, use acetone for prep/stripping cleaning... dont use brake cleaner. you will die. seriousley. you will seizure up and have a definate near death experience if you weld over a brake cleaner puddle.

Also I wouldnt do a first time weld job on something structurally important, you dont even know if you can get a good bead/joint going.

Ive tried welding a few times on my uncles mig welder. it was kinda cool, but i just practiced welding random metal peices together. I got some decent joints down, but nothing that I would say would confidently keep my car together...

I would need a lot of practice before that... It is an art, there is a learning curve, you will need many hours of welding so that you can do it like drawing a picture or something artful.

 

[TimF]

there is nothing structurally that has rust, my car is undercoated and the strut towers are flawless (knock on wood) I just have nasty looking panel rust