mig welding car panels

[styler]

hey recently got a mars 180 amp mig gas welder with 8 output steps and 10 wire speed settings, has a 15% duty cycle and will be used for the project car. mainly for welding new sections into the cut out sections of rust, ie floorpan, tunnel, rear quarters, engine bay, guards etc... im going to practice a fair bit before doing the car and would like to know :

1) what gas do people recommend? i think the mix of 95% co2 and 5% argon would be good for welding quality and not too expensive, this might be called mig shield from what i have heard. i do have a 2 gauge regulator (pressure and flow? possibly). seems boc and gas places supply bottles on rent and refills.

2) and wire size for old jap ke corolla panels? im thinking the smaller the better as i dont want heat distortion, ie 0.6mm. the mig takes 0.6mm to 0.9mm so let me know your thoughts as i have had a few opinions...

3) and as for technique i will be learning so feel free to add any constructive basic methods, thinking of short mig welding course at tafe or book. some info on net but seems a lot of trial and error info to suss it out.

4) also write up any tips or trick methods, ie stitch welding slowly, cooling panels with water soaked cloths, weld through primers, tack welding sections, clamps, grinding off existing paint/galv etc..

[JBs]

Gas wise the BOC equivalent is Argoshield Light with an optimum range between 1 - 4mm. Quick bit of advice for rental don't get stuck with the annual rental trap, go for daily so you only pay for the time you hold the cyl it's approx $10 more a year if you hold it for all 365 days.

Edit: Just to go into the gas bottles a little more BOC has 3 charges.

1) Gas in the cyl everytime you get a new one
2) Rental on cyl
3)Handling/Delivery fee depending on whether you're picking up or having it delivered.

There are no charges for holding an account but make sure you always hold on to your dockets for when you return an empty cyl because it's probably the most common problem I see.

Cheers

[barned01]

i am learning how to weld as well using a SIP 150 welder.
I am learning for a different project however, i want to build a metal pergola made out of box section steel with seamless weld joins through the roof structure as i don't want to have bolts showing everywhere.
first tip i can give regardless of paint, galv, rust etc. is to make sure the metal is completely clean first, use a wire brush to remove any foreign deposits.
Although an angle grinder with a abrasive disc attached seems to do a quick and good job, it does take a fair bit of meatl away with it, so keep that in mind.

As for car panels...well thats my project after the pergola.

so far my welds look like piles of dung everywhere, but i am also using gasless wire which is probably not helping my welding as i am currently saving up for the regulator, bottle and rental (and a proper auto dimming mask wouldn't go astray either.)

[cri_ag]

i use 0.6 wire for welding pannels on cars, i highly reccomend getting down to your local tafe and doing a course, thats what i did and belive me its the best way to learn (along with lots of practice)

[big wad]

g day mate i am a tradesman boilermaker welder of 27yrs. go to air liquide to get your gas its called migshield m1 good shit.use the 0.9 wire and just use small spots of weld and stagger it all over the place, any continuous welding will distort. use a bit more power than usual and srart with a bit of wire stickout ,15-20mm and as you pull the trigger push the handpiece towards the job . tou will get full peno and a nice flat weld. keep your gas nozzle and contact tip clean and the feed rollers adjusted and your gas flow at about 12-20 litres per min and stay out of the wind .1 more thing stop listening to dickheads. cheers. big wad.[ ps clean clean clean ie grind]

[big wad]

g day mate i am a tradesman boilermaker welder of 27yrs. go to air liquide to get your gas its called migshield m1 good shit.use the 0.9 wire and just use small spots of weld and stagger it all over the place, any continuous welding will distort. use a bit more power than usual and srart with a bit of wire stickout ,15-20mm and as you pull the trigger push the handpiece towards the job . tou will get full peno and a nice flat weld. keep your gas nozzle and contact tip clean and the feed rollers adjusted and your gas flow at about 12-20 litres per min and stay out of the wind .1 more thing stop listening to dickheads. cheers. big wad.

[Grega]

i use argoshield from supagas
its an argon/o2 mix like 99% argo 1% o2 or something
i use std 0.8mm wire from bunnings - mine is a sip coppermate 170

to do panels, get a shitter old panel, and test on it using the mig to "tune" it to suit
then off you go

i havent done a course, but lots of books and practice. its shit easy, once u get the circle technique ; ie: when you do runs, draw little circles with the tip to keep the flow going (long runs) - panels will deform tho with long runs (too much heat) short bursts are your friends on panels mate

as per what bigwad has written - good advice there.

[JBs]

i use argoshield from supagas
its an argon/o2 mix like 99% argo 1% o2 or something
.

You sure it's called Argoshield? Argoshield is a BOC brand name, just like Migshield is Air Liquide etc.

[Grega]

OK got it wrong
Supa Argon 07 is what I use

Thanks for the correction JBs

[JBs]

No stress mate didn't mean it in any bad way, I'm just used to speaking to ppl who tell me they need migshield and finding the BOC equivalent.

[o_man_ra23]

Just got a decent MIG myself (CIG Transmig 165) and even with the gasless wire it produces some good penetrative welds, but splatters like a bugger. I am completely self taught, but intend on visiting the local TAFE before tackling my RA23, as I can tell you my self taught welds are just not up to scratch. So the best advice I can give is to do the TAFE course, as it will show you how to setup your MIG and estimate what wire etc to use.

Cheers, Owen

[wilbo666]

even with the gasless wire it produces some good penetrative welds, but splatters like a bugger.

Tis a gassless trait.

Cheers
Wilbo

[o_man_ra23]

Yeah, knew that Wilbo... wording wasnt great, but thats what I meant. Thanks for clearing it up.

Cheers, Owen

[wilbo666]

Yeah, knew that Wilbo... wording wasnt great, but thats what I meant. Thanks for clearing it up.

Cheers, Owen

Yeah, thought as much!

I thought I changed my post to include a and a comment about gas FTW...guess I decided not to actually post that reply tho!

Cheers
Wilbo

[Grega]

JBs. no drama. prefer to provide the right info buddy

o_man_ra23. lose the gasless, get the gas, and watch your welds improve out of sight
believe me.
and practice
go to the local steel merchant/recylcyer and get some crap off cuts
clean them up
and make some "art"
practice with different thicknesses of metal and, different settings
and practice little circles
my mate (T on here) told me YONKS ago he finds it hard putting holes in things when he welded. I never believed him. i practiced (and i mean practiced (even have the scars to prove it) and now i'm the same.

safety gear.
oh man i can't rave on this enough.
get a good auto reacting helmet
and use gloves. i got spag under my engagement ring (don't wear rings FYi) and have the scar burned into my ring finger to prove it. nasty.
and cover up as the welding flash "sunburn" takes a LONG time to go away. nothing like sun based sunburn.