Looking for body panel welding advice.

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Goodmorning,    I am in the middle of repairing/restoring my wrangler and am now tackling some fairly large rust sections on the body.  I have already cleaned, preped, and cut replacement sections of 16 and 18Gauge sheetmetal and am now ready to start throwing them togeather.    My experience so far with the classes I am taking is mostly with pipe and plate.   I have set my machine to the correct range and wire speed but cannot seem to be able to prevent burn thru.  My question is, is there something I can put in place behind the seams I am trying to weld that will help reduce/prevent burn thru?   I am spot welding every few inches and am getting nice clean welds when it does not burn thru.ANy advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thankyou in advance.  Come try it out and stay a while.
Reply:Rusty - you have to tack, tack, tack. You can't run a long bead on thin gauge. Give it a shot and then post pics.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:If you're trying to butt weld sections in the gap must be very consistent. Eastwood and other companies make a neat little clamp that will fit through the gap and hold the panels in position. The clamps also make it easy to get the correct gap. Not only is the spot move spot method easier it will cause much less warping.
Reply:What they said....  When i welded in body panels for a body shop years ago.  Try to keep your edges clean, and straight with an even gap. Then don't try to weld the seam.  I always Tacked then moved a few inches and then tacked again moving all the way around the panel. Then I would keep tacking tacking my way around until I had the seam welded.  It would spread out the heat better, and cause less distortion.  You also can use a piece of copper behind the seam for a backing or even a thick piece of aluminum will work for mig welding.  Good look,  Post some pics in the projects section, and let us see how you are coming.  ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:To secure a heat sink behind a panel, I will at times rivet a plate of copper or aluminum to the backside, then remove the rivets and plate when I have welded it. Hammack Weldings' description is perfect on how to do body panels. Also, use.023 wire instead of.030 or .035.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:All good advice guys.  I will post some pics up in a few days once I get the hang of it.  I will definatly try going to .23 wire since I am using .30    Most of my welding will actually be outside because i do not have a garage.  should I look into going with flux core or just stick to gas and reg wire?As for something as a backer, I do have a few 3/8thick x4" x12" strips of aluminum. these sound like they would work.Thanx again guys for the advice.Last edited by rustywrangler; 05-27-2007 at 06:30 PM.Come try it out and stay a while.
Reply:Stick with solid wire and gas. 75/25 argon/CO2 mix will work better than CO2 for you. The backer strip is going to have to be something more flexible so that are no gaps between your metal and backer strip.
Reply:Originally Posted by tresiStick with solid wire and gas. 75/25 argon/CO2 mix will work better than CO2 for you. The backer strip is going to have to be something more flexible so that are no gaps between your metal and backer strip.
Reply:Originally Posted by rustywrangler  should I look into going with flux core or just stick to gas and reg wire?As for something as a backer, I do have a few 3/8thick x4" x12" strips of aluminum. these sound like they would work.Thanx again guys for the advice.
Reply:Well, as long as your backer strips remain in good contact with the sheet metal it won't hurt that they are really thick other than being harder to work with.
Reply:Here is a post that someone else strated awhile ago on doing patches on auto's. I did up some examples to help. http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=9887Hope this helps you with your project.Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:Originally Posted by jamlitHere is a post that someone else strated awhile ago on doing patches on auto's. I did up some examples to help. http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=9887Hope this helps you with your project.