Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedy
can anyone lend a newbie that is familiar with a MIG welder some advice on welding flush patches on his vehicle.
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Patience is key here.... Had I started off with more patience working on my M151A2, I would have saved myself a ton of time in the end. If your gut tells you its going to look like shit, it probably will.
Most important tip I can give you when working with MIG on sheetmetal is that everything must be clean and free of rust, grease, and paint, otherwise you will never get anything decent. This is crucial with MIG.
Secondly, if your starting out, all of your butt welds should really be a series of quick tacks until its complete. Heat is your enemy with sheet metal body panels. It is very easy to warp things if you get carried away, and it takes surprisingly little heat to do allot of warping.
Try and use the smallest wire available. IIRC, I used .22 wire. Same with the voltage, lowest possible, with a nice slow feed speed. Turn your Argon/CO2 up to no less than 20 psi, not only will it keep your weld clean, it will also help keep things cool. Practice on some sheetmetal first before you attempt anything on your project.
Take extra time to make sure your patch panels fit well prior to tacking them on. No more than 1/16" less gap between patch and the body for your butt weld, but you will need some gap. Use welding magnets to hold them in place as this will keep everything level/flush.
Lastly, and this is my own personal tip. If you want it to be flush, try to keep your gun perpendicular to the weld when your doing your tacks rather than the angle most use when wire feed welding, this will keep the heat evenly distributed between both the existing body and the patch.
Lots of good tips can be found all over Google.
Thats about all I can give you now.
Scotty