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If it was my bumper, I'd strip it with 80 grit. This will also help to smooth out scratches and gouges. Prime right over the 80 grit scratches. (This will let regular primer stick to the bare metal) Use 220 on the first two coats of primer. On the 3rd coat, use 320 or 400. Paint over top of that. This is all a bit of overkill, but it will produce very nice results that will last.
What's a good cheap welder yall could suggest for me?
If you don't plan on welding anything too thick, the 110v Mig from Eastwood works pretty well. It all depends on what you want and what you plan on welding. If mostly sheet metal and thinner metals, than a 110v will do just fine. Also, depends on if you have access to 220v or not. A good welder is something you always can use. If I would have to do over, I would have went with a larger welder, but I don't have much amperage in my garage so a 110v works for me.
If you don't plan on welding anything too thick, the 110v Mig from Eastwood works pretty well. It all depends on what you want and what you plan on welding. If mostly sheet metal and thinner metals, than a 110v will do just fine. Also, depends on if you have access to 220v or not. A good welder is something you always can use. If I would have to do over, I would have went with a larger welder, but I don't have much amperage in my garage so a 110v works for me.
It's a type of welding wire that doesn't require a shield gas like MIG - the flux burning off consumes the oxygen in the air. Typically, wire-feed welders that will do MIG will also do flux-core; you just use that wire without the argon bottle.
You also have to change over the polarity of your welding gun to get a clean weld with flux core, real easy to do and your welder will have instruction. just reveres your +,- on your welding trigger. I seem to have better penetration with the flux core on thicker metal, make sure your wire brush is handy as you'll use it a lot, cheaper than argon and works when welding outside unlike argon. Total crap to use on thin metal, unless you have a lot of patience and like doing lots of wire brushing.
That's a pretty good deal, Need welding gloves and an auto darkening welding helmet. Harbor freight has a pretty good deal on small MIG welders and helmets. It looks like there is no wire in the machine, so I would want to make sure it was operational before buying.
I advise practicing on some scrap metal before you go at it full force. The welding heat will warp the metal so you have to go slow and do it in little sections. Do not cool the metal down with a wet rag!
It would be hard to beat at that price. You probably will want to add the gas to it, which will add another $200 to the cost, but you can get started without it.
One thing to look for is the type of argon hose it takes. If it uses the thin opaque plastic line leave it alone as it's a low amp short duty cycle welder. If it uses the 5/8" line good, now look for a10' hose and a good set of gauges. The next thing is amperage and settings. A 110 set up can go up to 140 - 150 amps out welding power, see if it has 3 or 4 amp settings, any less and you lose tuneability on your welding amperage. The higher, better powered welders take a mininum 30 amps to power them, mine takes 40 amps. Not a problem if your just doing bodywork but you'll need the extra amperage when you start welding 1/8" plus. The last thing is duty cycle, again no problem if your doing bodywork but can be a pain when welding thicker metals. Duty cycle is the length of time that you can weld before your welder shuts down,not the most accurate description of duty cycle but its close enough to understand. Hope this helps, I had a 220, 160 amp out Clarke years ago and liked it, currently have a 110, 140 amp out lincoln that I really like paid $450 for it and worth it. Have made back $260 doing nieghbourhood welding, like that part even better.
If the guy selling the welder starts talking wire speed hes testing you, your wire speeds while welding are going to be from 2.5 - 4 any faster and your running to thin a wire or your loading your wire. It's a sales trick that lets you know if your buyer is educated to they're buying..
I got my bumper out today and primered it. I sanded with a 80 grit, 180 grit then first coat of primer. I bought tractor paint from the local tractor supply. I think I spent 30 bucks for a quart of primer and light ford gray paint. This was the first time I've ever used a HVLP gun (used the purple gun). It's just one coat of primer right now, I'm going to let it dry over night. I believe I got a little orange peel and a couple runs, but I do think it's gonna turn out nice. I'm gonna paint the step up with a can of matte black tractor paint, then the rest is gonna be the light ford gray. Here's a few pictures of the bumper after a coat of primer.
03-09-2015, 01:37 PM
