Thread: Body Prep, panel welding etc help needed

Tweet

Not sure how much. I wouldn't go 1/2 an inch, just maybe 1/4 will do fine. Also check out www.eastwoodco.com and they have a sealer there just for that. You get a can of it and brush it on and it's like rubber basically and it seals it all up. What I would do though when doing this is first spray the panels with weld through primer (so it dont rust again) then weld them together, etc.

you might also look into a stitch weld attachment it turns the welder on and off so you won't be as likely to burn thru...I think HTP a welding and tool company now sells a heat absorbing putty you mold to put next to the weld area to absorb the heat to keep from warping it....In the old days we used some molding clay type stuff that had oil, water and asbestos in it. long since banned because of asbestos. you could scrape it off and add water and reuse it I think the new stuff has glaubbers salts mixed in it. the stuff they mix with epoxy to fill the blocks in drag motors, takes a long time to get hot and a long time to cool down. a buddy's dragster motor was still warm monday at noon! probably the same stuff in the new fire extinguishers

the less over lap the better . if you want to hide it like a floor pan a flanger tool is ok but it hard to hide on both sides.to cut rust out use a cut off use very thin cut off disc to cut down on heat. i like using angle grinder for this .and i do not use the flang tool on over lap it will bend a hi spot by the over lap . i like to butt weld less filler and a much better job .the more you do it the better you will get at it. heat is the enemy on cutting and welding and sanding. look at the rust tap it with a body hammer tap and if it feels soft cut it out or it will come back for small rust spots i use 3m cleaning wheels the rocker can be sand blasted. but on sheet metal like middle of doors hood 1/4 panels you can do more harm than good if you make patchs i use 18 gauge for patchs welding mig is ok set it so you dont have a lot of weld .tig work very good and hammer weld it but it s taking alot of work to do this from warping you can move around when welding do not weld more than 1/4 inch of weld at a time acid etch dupont vairaprime work very good .the better the metal work the less filler the less finsh work. i do not like filler or thick primer less is better

Pat we are talking about flanging on the floor pans not body patches....

so

Ok, well I thought that you thought we were talking about body patches....

What kind of dipping? Off plating dipping worrks nice for exterior pieces, but theres still rust inbetween the panel and the panel supports...I heard acid dipping leaves alot of chemical in the car. Media Blasting works nice. It's plastic and as long as its realatively clean (nothing got in it in recovering it...metal scraps etc.) it's great. I blasted many cars and parts with no damage. It won't take of rust though. As far as lap welding, why not do the better job and butt weld? The weld should be plenty strong enough, and with some practice, burn throuhg shouldn't be a problem.

butt welding is the way to go i have done body work for 30 years and a good butt weld takes work but when done rigth very litte filler needed .i did a lot of cab corners this way and used very litte filler. a lot less filler that with a over lap. the over lap will takes more heat to weld it.a butt weld will take less and will pull the metal to gether this will keep it from warping in some places . but if you in the middle of a hood or roof you are on your own. and dipping sounds good but i have a customer that had his cab dipped and all seams are rustting nice

Hi so you are doing up a 69 Camaro, well so am I . Just waiting for it to come into the country, then the work begins.

A few people have mentioned the mig welder which is good. About the media blasting there is a process called soda blasting, which takes of paint and crud but leaves the metal alone. hope this helps. S

Flanging the floors doesn't matter, you wont see it. Just dont do a body panel with a flange, that's when you butt weld. Bead roll the floor panels to make stronger as well.

if you are doing a car that you do not want is it to look like it hase been fixed ???.butt weld is it .dose not matter this is the best it s a butt weld. a car with over laps look fixed why not make it look like it was not been touch cars done rigth you get more $$ than some thing not done rigth if you car got hint and you fixed it do you whant to see were it was fixed ?good metal man can fix some thing and you wont know how bad it was.

If your going to have the car dipped, make sure you strip it down completely,especialy sound deadening material,,,if the acid is not completely removed,,then wherever it hangs on is going to rust realy fast.

Use the stuff called Aircraft stripper. And if you wan't when your done you can get some Zinc and rub back into the metal but you really don't have to do the Zinc. Any acid will take zinc outta the metal though.

thanks guys for all the input. this forum is great!

I just about have the car all apart. I just need to take out the headliner and guages. After those are out I will get started on the floors. I have been shopping around for a mig welder but have not purchased one yet.

If you plan to do a lot of welding and wanna learn how to weld nice and have future plans for another hot rod, etc then I would recommend you getting a good welder. Lincoln and Miller are the best top brands just about. Miller is probably number 1 IMO out of all the welders that I have ever used.