My '64 C10 Step side has rust thru in the rear p*** corner. Last night I read several threads on welding patch panels. A thread named "**** Welding Made Easy" by member Fitzee, made a lot of sense on a tech approach level. I'm considering his technique, although Fitzee's patch was done on an almost flat area of the rear quarter panel. The corner of the '64 C10 cab has several planes or almost 90* bends. The patch would be welded in using a Lincoln Pro Mig 180, argon/CO2 gas, Lincoln L-56 .025 wire. Fitzee basically tack welded a patch every 4" all the way around, over a smaller hole in the fender, made some cuts at the corners. Before welding it up, Fitzee removed the orig cut fender panel from the back side. Fitzee said this allows for a tighter fit with less movement. He said there may be a few tacks holding it in place from the patch tacks, but they seem to break very easy for the most part. He then welded between the tacks, and ground down the welds. The cab corner patch makes it difficult to planish, so would dabbing the hot tack weld with a wet rag reduce some of the shrinking? My skills are better at welding structural steel than sheet metal. Any suggestions?
Forgot to ask, who sells the best patch panels? Summit sells Good Mark, Brothers doesn't say who makes theirs, and LMC doesn't list the maker. Good Mark comes with a EDP coating, translated means Electro Deposit Primer. Is EDP good stuff, or will it cause paint lifting?
Fast cooling of your welds will shrink them more and make them brittle. Hammer your welds with a dolly backing them to stretch. Go easy with the hammer/dolly. let them cool slowly. Also I'd recommend you get yourself a a small air saw rather than a cut off blade for a better fit.
I've had good luck with patch panels from these guys. Helps that they are only a few miles from my house. http://www.cl***icparts.com/
I had doubts about using a 4" cut off-blade. I have a Dremel 4000 with variable speed, and 1-1/4" Dremel reinforced cut-off wheels. Should make a precision cut. I went to your website. I am in awe of your expertise/talent. You said MIG is inferior to Tig and gas welding. Is MIG do-able? I thought MIG was intended for sheetmetal. I have always thought the best metal people are from England. I will appreciate your response. Cerberus
Yeah...and try not to cut the patch's corners square, round them out. Less linear weld bead= less warpage.
MIG IS GREAT FOR SPEED...DONE WITH PATIENCE IS FINE....GRIND AND FILL.... FOR PLACES YOU CAN HAMMER AND DOLLY...gAS OR TIG IS AWESOME...SOFTER WELD....POSSIBLE TO HAMMER[PLANISH] WELD TILL IT DISSAPEARS...CONTROLING WARPAGE AND MAKING PATCH INVISABLE....TAKES EXPERIENCE...BUT FOR AVERAGE JOE...MIG IS AWESOME...JUST TAKE YOUR TIME...LET WELDS COOL..KEEP THEM SMALL...CHECK FOR PINHOLES WITH LIGHT...GRIND...LIGHT FILL...PRIMER AND FINISH...GOOD FLANGING TOOL AND MAKING LAP WEL ALSO WORKS...BASIC AUTOBODY REPAIR...
Please don't lap weld exterior panels. That might have been basic autobody in 1970, but we know better now.
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