simple question... how hard are body patch panels to weld in for a novice?

I have a hobart 140mig with argon/co2 shielding gas but only 3-5 hrs behind the triger... Wanted to do a couple patch panels but didn't know how hard it is since i have just laid simple beads thus far... any advice/suggestions would be good...

 

What i would do is cut the old panel out about 1/16th inch bigger than your patch then i would rivet the patch in place and weld it in place it isnt hard just make sure you get good beads and grind down your welds so they are flush when you get done.

 

wont this leave a drop that i will have to fill with bondo? I have done the prep work before just not the welding in of the patch pannel.

I saw on POWERBLOCK that they cut exact fit and tack welded in to hold it... But don't know how well that would work on a larger patch pannel... When they did it on P-BLOCK they were just doing small pieces...

 

you can do that also I was thinking of how they do the bodies on stock cars to hold it together. but you can also tack it up after cutting an exact fit just make sure you get a good bead when you do so it cuts into the metal slightly and then once cool grind down the welds flush then prime and paint as usual.

 

thanks... I thought I might try the exact fit... but will under cut initally... rather cut twice than over cut once... My only concern is going to be the welder setting... being a novice welder i probably won't get it right the first time....

Now that i think of it... I will probably cut out the old stuff and experiment with welding the old junk first. Suppose that will get me to a good setting before i start on the truck and new pannel.

Just a little timid at cutting up my truck b4 i know what i'm doing.

 

Thats what i do i use a 110v MIG for all my exhaust work. and i dont think exhaust pipe is much thicker than body panels. I use the max setting on my welder. On my ext cab i have a huge dent under the passenger side window. I dont think i can push it out from the inside so i am going to either have to cut it out and weld in a patch panel or drill holes and pull it out then bondo the crap out of it.

 

a stud welder and slide hammer would do you wonders of good if you can't push it out. I wish i had one myself... you can go cheap... Harbor freight could get you set up with both for about $130-$150...

my mig is 110v too just to have portibility... anything bigger an i'll get my 75 year old stick welder out...LOL

 

LOL Man i built a 16ft dual tandem utility trailer with an old 220v stick welder they are awesome lol

 

You don't want to run beads on your sheet metal, you'll heat warp the crap out of it.
Stitch weld about every 3-4 inches all the way around it. You'll be going around the panel a bunch of times, but it will be worth it. And it will save you a bunch of time and work, when you're not haveing to use a bunch of body filler and hammer work trying to straighten out the warps.

 

i meant what you said 2fords when i said a good bead most decent welders know that i have never gotten my welder hot enough to heat warp anything at least with my mig take into account he is mig welding it

 

I have done a bunch of this with my MIG and results vary, you'll be on one of the lowest settings for sure to prevent burn through and as mentioned you'll have to stitch a lot of short welds together to minimize warping. I also end up doing a lot of grinding to flatten everything out and then fill the voids with bondo.. but it's on an old truck(our Ranger) so I'm not too concerned about perfect results. That said the finish product ususally looks pretty good after paint is applied.