Rust Repair tips n tricks

[Bling]

3 hours ago, Jusepy82 said:

A lot of this looks too cold to me, was there a back photo for that one or did I just miss it? Appears to be a big weld pool on the top, but it hasn't melted into the panel itself in areas, as if it had, it wouldn't have the steep sides on the finished weld, would be more flat like some of the other welds.
I've only used 0.6mm on my repairs, so a little out of depth with how to set that up to work better TBH.

I would perhaps start by dialing back the wire speed slowly and see how that changes the weld. Is that 3rd knob used for MIG or only the first two?

Rough maths says 0.8mm wire is 40% more wire than 0.6mm wire. That's quite a difference when we are working on thin welds. 

[Jusepy82]

Yeah heres the rear of the panel.

Ah yup only two knobs one for voltage and the other for wire speed. The other small one is for arc welding.

[NickJ]

14 hours ago, JustHarry said:

0.6 wire for panel steel.

This is gospel.

[Jusepy82]

Seems to me I fucked up buying .8 wire for panel steel. 

I brought it because one of my mates recommended it for it for one reason or another.

I will turn down my wire speed gradually and see what the welds look like later today and post them on here. Failing that I will suck it up and go and buy some .6 wire.

Chur to be continued....

[Bling]

0.8mm doesn't make it impossible, as it can be done. But if you're learning, you want things to be as easy as possible, 0.6mm is the best wire for thin material. A new roll of wire isn't the end of the world, sell the 0.8mm to cover a lot of the cost. Worthwhile i'd say, the extra heat needed is just going to be annoying to work with. The only reason (IMO) to run 0.8mm would be if you weld mostly thicker stuff, with the odd bit of panel steel. If you're mostly welding panel steel, then get the 0.6mm which is best suited to that. You can still use the 0.6mm for bigger jobs, if necessary. If no big jobs in the pipeline, sell the 0.8mm to help fun the 0.6mm. Sell it to that mate who said 0.8mm for panel steel  

[JustHarry]

55 minutes ago, Jusepy82 said:

Seems to me I fucked up buying .8 wire for panel steel. 

I brought it because one of my mates recommended it for it for one reason or another.

I will turn down my wire speed gradually and see what the welds look like later today and post them on here. Failing that I will suck it up and go and buy some .6 wire.

Chur to be continued....

Just buy a small roll for bunnings.

A big roll will last years for home use 

[Bling]

Smaller the roll the worse the value (probably double the price by weight), that's the only problem. If you plan to weld a lot, 5kg will be decent value. Just remember to swap the roller around to 0.6mm as well as the torch tip.

Also, you have the 3rd knob wrong in that photo, the chart you took a photo of shows it in the green zone. The manual also states it adjusts the induction. So it will be a pretty important setting to be using correctly. I had to check the manual as it didn't make sense to me that a fancy looking machine like that seemed to have limited adjustment. So that may not solve a huge amount, but it will certainly play a part in getting good results. If I adjust my inductance on my welder it changes the weld result.

Read the manual tonight with a cold beer and see what all the bells and whistles are for, then look to set the machine a bit closer to the settings recommended. With settings not set right, you'll be fighting a losing battle for sure.

[Jusepy82]

Bloody hell , thanks bling !

I will do exactly that mate !

[Bling]

Just watched this, half as a refresh half because I do enjoy a bit of Edd China. You may find some good tips in here. He includes a demo of using 0.8mm wire with thin sheet (among other scenerios) Worth a look. He was welding patches into a chassis in another video and showed how to cut and fit, then weld the patch panel in, also worth a look.

 

[Motu]

0.8 is GP rod for MIG...you don't want to be changing spools going from panels to exhaust tubing to plate. But if panel steel is all you are doing, the 0.6 is what you need.  I'm usually patching in 16 gauge, so 0.8 is good.

[Bcr]

Grab some 0.6 set volts to 20 v adjust wire speed until you get nice smooth weld on a piece of scrap

Then adjust volts and wire speed up or down to suit every welder is different but 20v will be pretty close

you are looking for good penetration ideally roughly the same both sides of the weld

will take some practice 

good luck

[Jusepy82]

Hello friends.

I have a question about spot welding panels.

How does one determine how many spot welds to put on a panel. The panel I have almost cut out has spot welds but it didnt come out nicely and is toast.

 

The panel in question is the A pillar on a ford escort , from just above the hinges to down by the sill.

thanks in advance for the help.

[tortron]

Examine the other side and replicate is what I do. Most body panels seem to be one every inch and a half. A pillar probably more like an inch

[Jusepy82]

Mmmm the other side is pretty dismal aswell. 

I shall take your advise and do some more research on youtube..

[Jusepy82]

Rego is live.

Is that cause they can make u get a panel beater cert or engineer cert ?

[JustHarry]

On 30/11/2023 at 18:51, Jusepy82 said:

Hello friends.

I have a question about spot welding panels.

How does one determine how many spot welds to put on a panel. The panel I have almost cut out has spot welds but it didnt come out nicely and is toast.

 

The panel in question is the A pillar on a ford escort , from just above the hinges to down by the sill.

thanks in advance for the help.

50mm spacing 

That's normal for repair cert 

Sils, a pillars, inner gaurds, everything.

 

[Jusepy82]

Hello again oldschoolers !

How do you deal with "oil canning' on a guard. Tonight on my escort I tried to heat it up and cool it down and then beat it with a dolly and hammer but it didnt seem to work that well. I think Im using a butane torch which does not centralize the heat enough and heats the whole panel instead of the percise spot im trying to shrink.

Anyways , techniques and thoughts please. 

[Nominal]

I've done it a bit with an O/A torch, just heating a spot then cooling it with a damp rad, and also with a shrinking disk I made from something round and stainless on a sander/buffer thing. Not quite as flash as the one below though.

I've also seen a tutor get a hot spot using a car battery, some jumper leads and the carbon core from a D-cell battery.

 

[tortron]

I have a set of shrinking disks, they are gold, did my rooted cab roof with them and got it near perfect. 

A guide coat, then zing with the disk till you see the high bits. Spray with water in a spray bottle. Hammer up low spots. Repeat

[Jusepy82]

Awsome , thanks .

I was looking into shrinking discs but unsure how they work. I will watch the video tonight.