notroubleclubber

I have quite a bit of welding to do on my s2 erst. I have a range of quotes, the dearest being £450, the cheapest no more than £100.

Ive seen a mig welding starter kit going on the bay btwn £150 to £200.It comes with all you need apart from the metal(!)

Is it worth buying the kit and having a go at doing it myself? My bro in law has done a bit of mig welding before and ive read up on it and seems to be ok.
I can use an angle grinder to cut the metal away. Then i guess its a case of cutting metal to suit the size, clamping into place, spot welding it in place then doing a nice solid weld round the cut.
I know its an art form but with a bit of practice on some scrap metal is it possible to do my own work?

daz1968

with practice it ain't hard. I am welding a mini shell up at the moment. Hardest part for me was getting the welder set up in the first place, once I had power and wire feed properly everything seemed to fall into place. Only thing I would advise is buy the best one you can afford and get an auto darkening mask as they save a lot of hassle.

dunketh

A desk vice makes the 'new panel' job a lot easier.
You can get some really nice clean edges and bends with a simple hammer and some clever clamping.

Unfortunately I cant weld for shit, tried it several times and failed on each occasion. I guess its P40 and underseal for me..

Chip

iTrader: (3)

A major part of getting a decent weld, is making sure both surfaces are very clean.

notroubleclubber

Mite get a few more quotes and if too expensive have a go myself. Mind you i have to do both rear inner arches. They have rusted from the back of the car right round the perimeter of the outer arch. Where do i cut this back or do I just replace the whole inner arch? If so, how do i get the old one off?
I dont want to touch the outside of the car as its near on perfect, only having a respray about 2 yrs back.

tonyrally

that is the best advice u will get...... also get some sheet steel an practice wellding a straight even line u will pick it up in the end its just bout being steady an setting up the welder

Cragrat

iTrader: (4)

i agree with both posts above clean surface and practice practice practice,once you are confident you will save a fortune,just make sure welds on car are as good as practice ones in ya vice,oh and watch out for underseal and interior trim-cheaper to remove than replace when burnt to a crisp

good luck and crack on fella

BIG WULL

iTrader: (5)

welding aint the hard part its all the fabricating and prep that gets me

BIG WULL

iTrader: (5)

Aaroncast

putting the fire out could be your biggest problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-
remove battery/keep away from the fuel lines and tank-
and watch the sparks off the grinder!! will make a mess of your paintwork if they make contact-etc----------
be safe-------keep a big fire extinguishire close by /bucket of water and perhaps a wet old towel---------------

panelbeater

its the actual panel fab and the panel beating side of it that takes the skill the welding part of it is easy

Cragrat

iTrader: (4)

there are other hazards to welding,years ago i was sat welding an inner arch when a good sized spark flew off down to my nether regions burnt thru my jeans boxers and rolled along my mister and onto my left nut creating some rather painfull blisters (wife nick-named it mr blister after that)

WHITE VAN VANDAL

i hired out a welder on the work account hahahaha gave it a go twisted a few knobs fiddled some switches practised on some scrap and once you get it rite its piss easy. the prep is an arse though cleaning dirty/rusty metal grinding and cutting for ever. just go easy and take time you mite even enjoy it. o yeah dont touch a weld after you laid it, it burns haha

rs-ant

ohhh the two posts above sound rather painful lol. I gena have a go at this soon so hopefully i can get the hang of it as cant afford to pay for it all to be done.

johnnysash

dont forget to get a good set of gloves... "welders rash" on the arms can sting a bit. and wear googles when grinding....work was not happy when I had a day off cos I had a lump of metal in my eye!!

all danger things aside I remember when my mate burnt his "nether regions" was possibly one of the funniest things I have ever seen at my work shop!? Why is other peoples pain down there so funny?

frodmyster

im doing up a car and have bought a boc welder for £50 . i bought some sheets of metal and just practiced.once you get the jest of it and get to know your welder and its settings it does get quite easy. u just need a bit of patience matey.

Rs Gus

iTrader: (2)

not if you canweld no its not hard

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i've burnt my elbow with a hot cinder, it went through my jacket, my shirt and my skin

there are 2 sorts of welding, the pretty stuff which can take ages, and the stuff you do to join to bits of metal together

the later takes longer to grind away

and watch out for the pidgeon shit hiding crap welds so get yourself a little pic hammer to knock it off to check it's sound

crazycage

welding cars and being able to weld properly is two completely different things, in plenty or real welders that can't weld a car

SillyFezzaMk1

iTrader: (1)

Dojj your on about MMA (commonly known as STICK or ARC) welding, NOT the type of welding you do on car panels

MIG is the one you want, as people have said... clean the mating faces, go steady, lots of practice and patience is the only way.

Good luck

Dan

fonfe

you can take two identical looking welds 1 done by a professional and 1 done by some one learning and one be very stong and the other weak, so if its majour structural id get someone else to do it. i can mig exhausts and bits of metal for the car but i wouldnt trust my welds enough to do lets say a suspension turret.

costina

iTrader: (1)

Very ture and i bet many are not thatcham certificated,which would include most bodyshops

Cragrat

iTrader: (4)

i agree there is a big difference, a good mate of mine got himself coded and one of the tests he had to do was weld a continuous weld inside a pipe without stopping,sounds easy but you just try it.

an-dy

iTrader: (2)

One thing i think is worth mentioning is to take your time, dont try and do the whole thing in one go, do an inch and let it cool, better for it to take ages than warp the panel.