Copper wire spool for mig welders.

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Good day All,I just saw a post on my fav website that said that you can use a special copper wire in your mig to do body panels does anyone know f this special wire.
Reply:Copper "coated" wire maybe? Standard solid wire.Tim Beeker.
Reply:Thi is the only one I know of aimed at Body workhttp://products.esabna.com/EN/home/f...ategory_id.504Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I wonder if he's thinking about mig brazing wire....No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:DSW i think thats it mig brasing wire. The  reason for me asking these questions is that i want to do some work on my car and would like to choose the right welder. Would a tig welder be ok to use on body panels and for welding of the frame the car in an aircooled beetle.Last edited by badbug; 09-04-2011 at 11:58 AM.
Reply:Tig doesn't tolerate the rust and paint thats often left from poor prep on body panels. It can be done, but you have to get your prep almost perfect, something thats often tough on older vehicles in area where salt and corrosion are a big issue. Tig also takes a lot more skill and practice than mig usually does. Mig tends to be the prefered way to do body work, usually with .023 steel wire and 75/25 gas.I'm not sure what sorts of things you want to do to the frame. Major vehicle mods on structural components, especially on vehicles that will be used on the road are not beginner or learning projects. Again rust / paint / undercoating / oil etc will be the downfall of using tig for any of this. It needs to be clean to use mig as well, but not to the almost "sanitary" degree tig needs. Honestly it sounds like you are a very long way from doing these sorts of projects from the basic question you just asked. There's also a lot more to these mods usually than just doing good welds. Good welds won't make up for poor design and fab skills, both take a lot of work and practice themselves.Most vehicle work, whether it's body work or orther stuff usually means welding out of position. Most guys can do a decent job on flat stuff on the bench, and a fair job horizontal. It's the vertical and overhead work that seperates those that can from those that can't. For structural work you must be capable of doing code quality welds in all positions every time. The "it's ugly but it holds" BS won't cut it.In general for auto body work any good name brand mig will do what you want.  The small 140 amp 110v migs are good for this, but they max out at 1/8" under real world conditions despite what the manufacturers lit might say. If you want to do anything 1/8" and over, you will want to get a 230v mig of at least 180 amps at a minimum. You can always turn a bigger machine down to do thinnner stuff like body work, but you won't make acceptable welds on thicker material with a small machine.Tig is a better choice for stainless work like exhaust headers and pipes. Working with new steel, it's often the choice for doing cages and suspension componenets. Several members here have done body work with one after doing the correct prep. A good DC tig with a pedal or finger control will set you back a good bit of change. Cheaper units without the remote capability take more skill to learn and use, but can be used. It takes a lot longer to learm tig out of position, and thin metal tig out of position, like you will need to do body work, will probably take years to learn for the average hobbyist who doesn't take a class and put the hundreds of hours in learning that this often takes. Even at the tech school  night program, it's not at all uncommon for guys to need two or three terms to get thru basic 1/8" tig on steel in all positions. Then you need to go and do it all over again with thinner steel.I'd say to cover all the bases you probably need two machines. A good 230v 200 amp class mig, and a decent DC tig with remote capabilities at the minimum. An AC/DC capable tig would also allow you to do alum at some point, but it would double your tig buget most likely..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Thanks DSW but i have done some welding work before ( worked on cargo ship and oil tanker before ). Most of my welding experience was with electric welder and oxy welder.
Reply:Copper? I am all ears. http://www.lincolnelectric.com/asset...ture/C4200.pdfCity of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:I have never used copper MIG wire or even know of its existence.  I have used copper plate and bars as a backer on sheet metal to prevent burn through and to pull away some heat for less warpage.ɹǝʌo ǝɯ lloɹ 'sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟı
Reply:Hey guys,OK.... for those of you who have never used or "heard" of copper MIG wire, here's where I got mine when I finally ran out last year......http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/we...ml?id=sVAZtbVoI do copper repairs(MIG) for a couple companies that have to have the repair done strictly with copper filler & depending on the repair, I use .030 or .035. I also do some of their repairs with my TIG for the intricate pieces that they send over. Both processes are 100% Argon.As far as body panels, I just did the rear bed wells & door bottoms for my sons' truck when he was home a couple weeks ago. I used .023 Silicon Bronze wire, 100%AR @ 20cfh with 1/8" aluminum angle as a backing on the seams. Had excellent results by tacking opposite sides in 1" spacing & then slowly running 1/2" beads alternating from one end to the other & cooling with a wet towel( my son's duty). It welds nicely if you take some time with some scrap pieces of the same material to get welder set up for optimum results. I used my Miller Sidekick(90A/110V) since these were 24ga. Here's where I get my silicon bronze wire:http://www.usaweld.com/023-Silicon-B...re-p/58223.htmDennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I wonder if the "copper" MIG wire is just special compared to the standard flux-cored wires that are typically used with these little 110Vs.  Im sure we're not talking about actually MIG welding copper here, likely just converting from cored to solid wire.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Hey sn0border88,I do believe, like you, the OP was referring to copper flashed standard MIG wire & not pure, deoxidized copper wire. Many of the newbies don't understand the copper flashing is only a faint coating over the steel filler for both better electrical conductivity & a rust inhibitor. I did post the copper MIG wire for those who didn't know about welding copper with a pure copper filler.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."