Welding Early Sheet Metal

I bought a '32 fordoor for my wife here a while back. Rear wells were pretty rusty but figured could be repaired. I have welded a ton with a mig but I dont have much experience with rusted body panels. This weekend I was working on straighting out some dings in the front fender and there were a few extra holes. I made the attempt at welding them up. At one heat range the metal wanted to burn out causing one hell of a glob to fix it. I backed off one to the lowest heat range and it didnt penetrait. Just kinda laid on top. At this rate I am leary of doing the wells myself. I'm afraid I will make a bigger mess. I read through a bunch of old topics from the search feature and seemed to find everyone has their on way of doing it. Nothing really said this is what to expect. Pretty much the before and after.

So my thought is to fab the new out of 18 to 20 gauge and concentrait my welding with mig on the new metal and try to work the puddle over on the old or try to gas weld? Thoughts?

Thanks

 

what machine ya using?
wire size
heat settings

 

It's a Hobart 140. Currently using 030 solid wire with argon. I had it on the number 2 heat range but seemed too hot so backed down to number 1 and got no penetraition. Should I back the wire size down and go to the number 1 heat range?
Thanks

 

Hey,

Not all squirt gun welders will work well on thin/rusted sheetmetal. Even some of the newer 110 volt units arn't all that great for this detail. I'd try some .023 wire on the lowest setting that will melt, but not burn thru completly. Try a piece of copper or brass for a backer when filling holes. My first choice would be O/A welding with a 00 tip if your welding skill is up for that. An O/A weld will leave a nice soft bead that can be worked without a lot of silly grinding, and can be easily hammerwelded if you have that skill.

" Humpty Dumpty was pushed "

 

First of all, when mig welding thin guage steel you should use 75/25% argon CO/2 mix gas. Also try .023 wire. If you're still blowing holes through the metal it is too thin and you should consider larger patch panels or new pieces. You will have more heat control with tig or gas though for the thinner metals.

 

Sorry I didnt specify, it is mixed gas. I wil give the smaller wire a try.
Thanks

 

try flux core. The flux reaction is more instant

Note: Rust makes it burn hotter, so use it to your advantage.

 

Welding and rust don't go together. You need to have the weld area as free of rust & clean as possible. If its not rust free cut it back further.
Copper backer can help on holes or where its thin.

Definitely try the 023 wire, should make a big difference.

 

I'm mig'ing 32 fenders today. They suck if you ask me. Very thin compared to other early 30s fenders I have welded on.
The worst place is the very sharp crease at the top of the fender beading where the wire edge is crimped. That sharp 90 degree bend will crack very easy, and it's a pain to weld because it is so thin there.

I use .035 wire, just Co2. I have over 30 years practice with this same welder, so I manage OK.