Welding 101 - Sheetmetal

[Kirk]

Ok well it is starting to look like just about all the metal on my van will need cutting out and welding.

So i have the simplest of questions that ive never seen asked or mentioned....

What type and thickness of metal will i need to get in order to weld panels etc.....

for things such as the flares (making with steel) front end...roof....door....and back end of van.

Now im pretty sure my welder is using a oxy acetaline setup as i have to hire the 2 gas bottles...but that is the full extent of my knowledge.

ALSO---

Now that ive discovered my van has been in the rain the last 2mnths with baremetal showing, and only primer covering any other part (as well as expossed bog)....what should i do....do i need to treat it with rust stuff before priming again.....i really am lost.

Cheers,

Desperate and Bedless

[Warren]

Kirk

I'm not a panelbeater/spraypainter so take what I say with a grain of salt - or listen to someone who knows more

Mild steel sheet thickness is messured in "gauges" not mm or inches, I would sugest getting a gauge slightly thicker than the beddy body, as it will make the forming and welding easier.

If you have a black and Red bottle then yes its Oxy-Acetlene, and tends to take a bit more skill to do than MIG welding.

I would suggest finding a mate who is a good welder to teach you a few things, and practice with scrap till you get the hang of it.


As for the paint, I would use a rust inhibitor paint like killrust to cover things while your doing the panel work, and leave the primer till after all the metal work has been done. Check out Busys pics and site to see how someone who knows does it

Warren

[silverado]

If your going to be covering any bare steel, clean off the worst of the rust stains etc and then use an "etch primer" this will bond the metal and any following paint will bond to the primer.

The etch primer will also reduce the chances of any reaction where different paint surfaces meet or bare steel meets exisiting paint.
Dont worry too much about your bare steel it will be fine outside for quite some time, just clean it and treat it as above once you get it back.

Bog hates moisture so if its been exposed to any rain for more than a few days i would be very carefull about including it in any finnished body work.
If you have primed it then that will help, but primer is porus and not very water proof either.
The bad news is, you may want to consider removing the bog and redoing it, at the very least I would take a hard look at it to see what moisture it holds maybe put heat lamp on it and see what it produces.

If it deep drill a small hole in it and see what it looks like further in.

Hope this helps

Rusty
 

[BusyKiwi]

panelsteel wise = 18 gauage

welder, as warren said 2 bottles could be oxy/acl, mig is better, less heat and distortion
Also As Warren said, practice on scrap panel first

As for the weathered bits, sand it down and redo it, will save lots of heartache down the road.
Primer is not waterproof, so if you have bog underneath the water will of got behind it. Sand it all sand with sander, re bog if needed and etch prime.

[Zeeman]

Kangan Batman TAFE at Docklands have a good short course in metal restoration & panel fabrication - ten weeks, once a week, on Tuesday or thursday - $427.
It covers MIG and oxy welding and making panels from scratch.

Worth doing if you're planning to do all the work in steel!

[Kirk]

Thanks guys...

Feel alot better now, was sure that if the bare metal was exposed it was a goner (i was under impression that the rust gets into the fibres and stays there, and thus never truelly goes away, only to come back years down the track)...

18 gauge...now thats the answer i was hoping for:)

Well the bog part is at the back (doors were welded shut and cut to make window) Ben thought it wasnt a very good job, when he looked at it, and when i sanded back (i thought it was a steel plate but the gaps were filled with bog) so it might be a chance to re-do it anyhow.

I wont be welding at this stage...i have a friend who is going to do it all...But assuming i keep my job, i do think i might take that course up, since i now dont work nights. 

Im not 100% sure as to the welding method he is using.....but he seems confident...so ill hope for the best:)

Thanks again guys...i needed to hear that the van wasnt dead:)

[Marishka]

id be using a mig,
 if plating with thicker metal weld onto the thicker metal and let it flow onto the thinner metal less chance of blowing holes this way, use 0.6 wire and make sure the metal is clean (no rust or paint on it).
ohh and get a mate to sit inside the van with a squirt bottle full of water to put out any fires.
i had my sandman nearly go up in flames when i was welding sections in the roof.
marty

[BusyKiwi]

on topic of panelsteel, don't buy bare panel steel, get the zinc plated stuff, there is a name for it but I can't spell it. Is grey so when welded in the back wont rust inside guards etc, isn't much more and lasts forever (stored) wont surface rust

[obsession]

zinc anneal

[BusyKiwi]

zincalom or something