Goat

Want to get a power file, body saw, and a 90 degree die grinder for all of the ease of rust repairs. Want to make it an enjoyable experience, rather than the uphill struggle i usually set myself up for. hah.

You guys seem to rate the xcel arc machines! 10a plug is pretty cool too. Still kinda torn, the simplicity of the BOC that @Nominal suggested is pretty enticing. Seems to only have a 18month warranty though.... Both the xcel and the BOC are over 1k cheaper than the Lincoln electric, and if they lay down welds with comparative ease, then is there a reason to pay more? (though you never regret buying quality tools, you only regret buying poor quality tools haha) Argh, why aren't there only like 3 different welders so its easy to make a decision. haha.

I'm about to embark on some rust repairs, and am keen to get some good kit to make it a more enjoyable experience. Can anyone recommend some good snips for cutting sections out of sheet metal to make patch panels. I've already got left, right and straight snips. But after something for the longer straight cuts. Also, can anyone recommend a power hacksaw for cutting out rust sections? I've got a grunty compressor so air tools are fine. Are the 90 degree air die grinders with sanding pads on them that i always see on youtube vids good for cleaning up the metal around the patch?

Thanks for all your input fullas. Good to hear different experiences. @Nominal Sounding promising. Does it automatically adjust the current etc? And you control wire speed? Or is that just a "power dial" and it does some magic calcs to lay down a nice weld. @Dudley Is there any compromise having a multi function machine? I.e. Jack of all trades master of none? (The machine not the man :P) @cletus Is that lincoln the one you use for the shock brace/mount welding on your 68 Valiant. As that looks pretty damn good for welding onto old chassis rails etc.

@Nominal Does it strike up a weld nicely? Even on okish metal? Kickers lincoln lays down sweet welds even on average metal. My current welder has become quite hard to lay a nice weld even on nice clean metal (its not my welding skill, honest! haha). Used to be pretty good. But I've had it for 20 years now.

Does the boc one work well with British rust repairs? Hah

Hihi. Can anyone recommend a dedicated mig that welds really nice? Not keen on multifinction. Mainly be for panel work. Have used @kicker's Lincoln Electric before and that is super lush. So kinda thinking along those lines. But keen to hear other people's recent experience from different welders. I think its finally time for me to get quality over price. So budget up to 2.5k.

This didn't eventuate. Thanks for the offers dudes!

Legend! Will see what I can arrange with the seller and let you know.

Hihi Just spotted some rad wheels for my Jag build on facebook. Ofcourse, like everything decent on trademe/facebook its alway in the upper north island (or deep south). Wondering if anybody lives in the Henderson area and would be willing to collect and hold on to them until i can sort getting them south to wellington. 4x 16" Rims with Tyres. Chur!

Thanks dude!

Do you do anything to the bare metal before the epoxy primer? Strip it back with wire wheels and 3m disks. Prepsol Epoxy Prime? What if there is rust staining? (as in sometimes you cant get all the pitting out with a wire wheel) Do i need to neutralize that first?

Also, for the underside of a vehicle, If i want the coloured underseal look. What process would i do? Bare metal 2k Epoxy Seam seal Underseal? Prime again(epoxy? normal 2k primer)? 2k Color?

Hi paint gurus I've done a bit of searching on this thread, and it seems like 2k Epoxy primer is still the go for painting bare metal. Would a product like this be all good to use: https://totalbodyshop.co.nz/products/concept-ep41-epoxy-primer-grey-kit-5l?_pos=6&_sid=3f6b0ee70&_ss=r Would one be able to 2k color over that after sanding it? Or would i need to prime over that with something like this: https://totalbodyshop.co.nz/products/copy-of-concept-hs-2k-primer-high-build-fast-hard-kit-beige?_pos=5&_sid=eb6e493cd&_ss=r What is the difference between 2k epoxy primer and 2k high build primer? And where would i use one over the other?

Any of the new style reg recs should be fine. Just search ali for reg/rec. And get something that looks like this: Make sure its either a 4 wire if your stator has 2 outputs or 5 wire, if your stator has 3. yellow or white are usually the AC inputs, and you'll need 2 or 3 of these. Then its a bat + and a ground. Usually handle some pretty decent amps