Rusty Thin Sheet Metal Blowing Holes Welding

Make sure to use an electrode wire that is thinner as it uses lesser heat and prevents blowing holes on to the sheet metal.

Rusty thin sheet metal blowing holes welding.

Sheet metal on the body of cars and trucks is pretty thin usually 18 22 gauge. Any kind of welder can be used but the best results come from a competent repairman using a tig or mig welding machine. A rust hole compromises the structural integrity of the metal. Repairing rust or a rust hole on metal without welding requires a material that bonds and is as strong as metal.

The photo is 1mm steel welded at a power setting normally reserved for 2mm steel. The butt weld page showed how to do a seam weld using a continuous torch movement. Try applying that technique to steel less than 1mm in thickness and you are likely to blow a hole in the metal. For these types of holes i start by cleaning the area around the hole with an angle grinder and flap disc.

The most permanent repair to a hole in sheet metal is to weld the hole shut. Video of the day. The welding process actually adds new steel to the thin steel and can result in a repaired spot that is stronger than the original metal. This is the thinnest sheet metal i have ever welded using this process.

Try welding with a scrap sheet metal piece and practice many times until you start working on more important projects. Two part epoxies are designed for this purpose and when applied to a clean surface the final repair will be undetectable after painting. The complexity of welding increases as the thickness of the material decreases. I m welding very t.