Arc Welding Automotive Sheet Metal

How to weld thin gauge steel similar to car body panel down to 8mm or 1 32 of an inch thick with arc or stick welder.

Arc welding automotive sheet metal.

Disclaimer due to factors beyond the. Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town. Here s a few tips on repairing rust holes in car body panels. I only have a 110 v arc welding machine and i want to weld car panels but i keep blowing out the metal.

What can i do to stop this. You can use aluminum rods on aluminum only and they typically are used only for really thick pieces about 0 25 inch and thicker. An electric current in the form of either alternating current or direct current from a welding power supply is used to form an electric arc. That makes this a one handed process.

Mig metal inert gas welding is a welding process in which an electric arc is formed between the workpiece metal and the consuming wire electrode causing them to melt and consequently get joined together. Everyone is different but those settings will get you in the right ballpark to weld sheet metal. Can i use aluminum rods. Shielded metal arc welding smaw also known as manual metal arc welding mma or mmaw flux shielded arc welding or informally as stick welding is a manual arc welding process that uses a consumable electrode covered with a flux to lay the weld.

Mig or metal inert gas welding aka gas metal arc welding or gmaw also uses a gas shield and filler material however in this case the filler is a wire fed directly through the welder. If you re doing welding work on cars and need the diversity of a mig and tig welder the weldpro 200 amp multi process machine is the best machine for automotive sheet metal. It s one of the most technologically advanced multi process welders available in this low price range. Mig welding is the preferred method for most automotive bodywork and since sheet metal is the thinnest of metals a large expensive mig unit is.

While repairing rusted body panels the more time that you spend on the metal work the less sanding and filler will be needed to finish the repair. A good heat setting for 1 8 6011 rods on thin material is about 80 90 amps. For 3 32 7018 s it s about the same. Mig welding sheet metal article by mark trotta.