Thread: Need some advice on welding of car body panels.

You make some good sense there "Wheelin". You have some fine work there too by the looks.

I understand there is a small tool for drilling out spot welds. Anyone know where I can get this?

Originally Posted by 009jim

I understand there is a small tool for drilling out spot welds. Anyone know where I can get this?

http://www.autotools.com.au/catalogu...hp/10/125/1383

Most places that stock panel beating gear will have them and some of the higher end auto accessory shops.

Grahame

Originally Posted by 009jim

You make some good sense there "Wheelin". You have some fine work there too by the looks.

I understand there is a small tool for drilling out spot welds. Anyone know where I can get this?

I used to use a 3/16 drill bit and just take it easy so I didn't go right through the panel

cousin in law used to heat with oxy this used to be ok with heavy panels light panels buckle to easy.

You can as I said previous use a bottle jack and blocks of wood to bend the door frame back to shape heating the area helps. You may have to go just past the point so its springs back with some hammer work still to do. The frame I can see is twisted so watch that!!

Originally Posted by durwood

I meant filing, the metal is welded, planished with a hammer and dolly and then a body file is used to smooth the surface. If there are highs or lows they are then brought up to level with the hammer and dolly or with a pick hammer to riase the area or heated up and shrunk to remove the stretched metal and the process is repeated until the metal is smooth and the desired shape. If you arn't good at this the answer is to use a plastic filler or lead to level the surface. but he ideal is smooth metal no highs and lows - invisible repair.

Now that brings back memories, all bad ones, gee I'm having a nightmare. I wonder if lead is used now due to OH&S concerns? Anyone doing this sort of work these days is either a millionaire or going broke I reckon. Who would want to lead fill anyway, it was only because there was nothing else, the same with Oxy, MIG is the winner here any day of the week. Unfortunately that was all there was and we used it. Ah, the good old days...not.

Mini, Yes lead is still used, its the only satisfactory way to fill joints on vehicles with lapped over panels.

Anyone with a vehicle more than 30 years old will probably have a vehicle that has lead filled joints. Modern vehicles don't as they are designed to eliminate the need for such joints. Usually the joints are placed in a position where they can be not seen like behind a plastic bumper bar.

In a car plant the lead loading bay on the assembly line was always a problem. If you toured the factories the guide always made the point that the workers in the lead section got better pay than other workers. Part of the reason was danger money and part was the specific skill required to do it.

Plastic filler helped see the end of lead in some workshops ( it was even tried on the assembly line when Leyland were operating) but it is not a patch on lead. If you fill a dent with plastc filler and a similar one with lead you can easily see the difference real quick.

Just turn over the panel hit the plastic filled one with a hammer and the plastic will immediately fly out. Try it with the lead one and you can belt hell out of it forever and the lead won't let go.

Any decent restoration shop or top class panel shop doing quality work will use lead. They even still use it in the USA saw some being put in a hot rod on Discovery channel recently.

It is only suitable for certain areas. you can't use it easily if the panel is large and flat as the heat will tend to buckle the metal. It is used in areas not accessable from the rear to panel beat out or in areas with a lot of shape that won't buckle when heated.

Unfortunately its a dying art and even though its still taught at Tafe colleges most students don't work in shops that do such quality work.

The start of this thread will point to that, 009jim can't even get his door repaired and its an easy repair.

As goes safety, there are rules to follow, you can't grind it with an angle grinder or a sander (well you can but its dangerous as the lead shavings coming off the disc have so much inertia they can fly several meters with the force of a shot gun pellet) it must be filed and you obviously need to be in a well ventilated area when applying the molten lead. If you are soldering anything you are doing exactly the same process .

With the problem with oil prices etc cars are now made as light as possible so lead is not a goer but if you need to repair the roof of an FJ Holden where the side panel joins or something similar the only way its going to be a lasting job it to lead wipe the joint where the two meet.

good day

i would like to steer this into a repair i am doing on my daughetrs car, it is a ford laser 1987 that rear ended a ford ute 1985 the towbar pushed the air con intercooler through into the radiatoe and so smashed the grill, lights and bent the bonet.

i have panelled most of the damage out and straightened the radiator surround, however there are some cracks that will require welding i was going to purchase a gaslesss mig

any thoughts

Hello gentlemen ,
as you can see I'm a rank newcomer but with your permission I'd like to ask a question .

As with originator of this thread ,I have an ancient ute repair .A 1981 Rodeo Diesel with some rust ...not too much but such that it needs cutting out .I have oxy /lpg ....can I use this ?
If so ,what provisos ?

Not sure if this will help but it may be cheaper in the long run. I bought from total tools in moorabin a benzomatic with oxy kit a bit like a baby oxy actelene kit but u own it and dont have to rent bottles. I have heated 3/4 copper to sivler solder in about 30 seconds
and they say you can weld and braze with it...Not sure if this will help..