What amps would i be looking at and what rods to do a sill repair? checking over the car today before the MOT next week and stuck me bloody finger through the rear sill down near the rear wheel arch, i just need to patch it to get it through the MOT until i can sort out some replacement panels from MJP at some point and get it done properly.

 

I have a 130amp arc welder just need to know what rods id need to use and what setting to put it on so i don't put more holes in it, and i get a good weld.

TBH mate,you'll do bloody well welding body work with an Arc welder-Mig is what you need!

 

If you must try, smallest rods poss and amps to suit.............:ph34r:

agree mig will be much better for the job far easier to tick up with. you will find the arc welder very very messy for this job and have little control. arc is best suited for applications where your welding thicker materials that arnt going to warp with the heat applied.

TBH mate,you'll do bloody well welding body work with an Arc welder-Mig is what you need!

 

If you must try, smallest rods poss and amps to suit.............:ph34r:

 

Unfortunately I'm on very limited funds at the moment due to a personal life problem that cropped up not to long ago. so my only option is to try my self. i need to get the car on the road before the end of the month, no two ways about it. the hole is less than 5p in size, but still a MOT failure due to location. until i get things sorted out im limited to doing all the work my self.

 

it doesn't have to be the best job in the world, but needs to be a good one if that makes any sense as it will be under the scrutiny of a MOT tester. once ive sorted my self out a bit more ill be getting the proper panels and getting the job done correctly as at some point this year i want to get her fully resprayed ready for summer, or during summer.

I have to agree with the above bud would be like watering your plants with a fire hose messy and hard to position, really sorry to hear on the personal issue but do you not know anyone who has a mig welder will be easier to use and do a much better (neater job)

Chris

Have a go then mate and hope your sorted soon!:wink:

If the hole is that small, i would use some P40 fibreglass filler to fill the hole, then a skim of bodyfiller, sand and paint. The MOT guy only taps the sills he wont be forcing a screwdriver through anything and the P40 will be stronger enough to withstand scrutiny. Its a stop gap to get it through the MOT till you can get it sorted properly if want in the future.

it doesn't have to be neat or look pretty, as it will get sorted at a later date, its just to get it through the MOT, i cant afford a mig welder and have the use of a arc. unfortunately i don't know anyone with a mig welder. i need to get the car on the road to start work again. its kind of a catch 22 situation. i have work available too me, but need the car to get there, yet need the job to fund the car lol

 

At the moment i have enough cash to sort the car out and a little bit extra as a fall back, but that's about it, which is really annoying as i have a job to start at the end of the month AAAARRRGGGGHhhhhHHH!

it doesn't have to be neat or look pretty, as it will get sorted at a later date, its just to get it through the MOT, i cant afford a mig welder and have the use of a arc. unfortunately i don't know anyone with a mig welder. i need to get the car on the road to start work again. its kind of a catch 22 situation. i have work available too me, but need the car to get there, yet need the job to fund the car lolAt the moment i have enough cash to sort the car out and a little bit extra as a fall back, but that's about it, which is really annoying as i have a job to start at the end of the month AAAARRRGGGGHhhhhHHH!

 

Not good mate :/ but i think Graham's idea is one to seriously consider :)

well ive got some fiber glass and a mahoosive tin of body filler lol then it would just be the spray work i suppose.

well ive got some fiber glass and a mahoosive tin of body filler lol then it would just be the spray work i suppose.

 

Or underseal,hides a multitude of sins! LOL!:ninja:

As said it should stand up to the test :) ....and will do as a temp meassure, hope you can get it on road to get the job mate!!

well so far ive sorted out my rear fog light that i managed to tuck in the crumple bar behind the rear bumper to get it out the way, and then forget to take it out when putting the bumper back on lol

 

Sort out the none functioning rear number plate bulbs, break pads front and rear, and acquire a new front fog light (thanks andy isherwood) as the glass fell out, i ran over it and then moaned how someone could be so careless as to leave a chunk of glass in the road (didnt know it was from my fog light until after i had binned the glass lol)

 

Just need to get the pipe welded onto the rear of the exhaust, sort this hole out and patch up the bit of sharp metal near the tail light from my run in with a central reservation barrier last year. and it should be good to go.

patch up the bit of sharp metal near the tail light from my run in with a central reservation barrier last year. and it should be good to go.

 

Gaffer tape is your friend!:yes:

Gaffer tape is your friend!:yes:

 

i have body repair hammers and body filler :D

 

But on a more sobering note, how dangerous are run flat tyres, i had the rear wheels off the car the other day to sort out the brake pads and found out i had a flat tyre on the rear and didn't even realise? not sure when it went flat but it wasn't like that before November as i checked all the tyre pressures just after i had; had that accident and it was fine then???

Don't waste your time trying to use the stick welder. It won't be worth it, in terms of time, and the potential to make a mess of it.

 

To be fair, if you've not done a bit of welding before, you will maybe struggle with a MIG too, unless you can get the power right down - the inner panels are thin to start with, and it's easy to blow holes in the sheet until you get the feel of it.

 

To be honest a TIG would be ideal - needs a little bit more co-ordination, but more forgiving on the job.

 

I would take the advice from groover as a stop gap.

 

Although you think you might get away with a stick welder because it is a small repair, its quite likely that the wee hole you see is worse behind there, and you are going to need to cut out and plate a fair sized section to do the job properly. Not something you want to attempt with a stick unless you are willing to take the chance of it all going wrong.

 

Why not speak to your local garage and ask them what they would take to weld it if you done all the prep work?

Don't waste your time trying to use the stick welder. It won't be worth it, in terms of time, and the potential to make a mess of it.

 

To be fair, if you've not done a bit of welding before, you will maybe struggle with a MIG too, unless you can get the power right down - the inner panels are thin to start with, and it's easy to blow holes in the sheet until you get the feel of it.

 

To be honest a TIG would be ideal - needs a little bit more co-ordination, but more forgiving on the job.

 

I would take the advice from groover as a stop gap.

 

Although you think you might get away with a stick welder because it is a small repair, its quite likely that the wee hole you see is worse behind there, and you are going to need to cut out and plate a fair sized section to do the job properly. Not something you want to attempt with a stick unless you are willing to take the chance of it all going wrong.

 

Why not speak to your local garage and ask them what they would take to weld it if you done all the prep work?

 

Well good news is im a fast learner and have at my disposal a complete shell of a z32 to practise on before i go any where near my car. the area in question isnt very big and after stripping it back, is quite small, it was made worse by me poking my finger in it.

 

I really dont care about making a mess as it will get repaired properly after the MOT, i only need the car to pass so a good job albeit messy is fine as long as it passes. i do not have the funds to go buying a tig / mig welder, i do how ever have a arc welder at my disposal, ok i know its not the best of items, but if it gets the job done then thats what i have to use.

 

Tomorrow im going to go and see about the repair from the same people im getting to do the MOT and see how much its going to cost.

 

At the moment until the car is on the road im jobless, i have a job already lined up, i just need to be able to get too and from it, not good with public transport as its a fair distance and i will be doing all kinds of transfers before i get there. and not very cost effective either (its cheaper for me to put the cash in the car than do that) and not only that, using public transport im looking at a good 3 hour journey each way.

 

For the time being i have fiber glassed and also body filler-ed, but its a bit bloody obvious, so will be sanding it down and giving it a good spray, but its still going to be obvious as i have the weather pattern on my skirts with a nice smooth patch where ive fillered it, so most likely still going to be a MOT failure due to it being body filler and fiber glass.

recreate the pattern while the filler is going off with a bit of course sandpaper pressed against it or vinyl. Smear some filler over a slightly larger area than the hole and emboss the filler, once you have sprayed it sprinkle some sand or grit over it.

You should have watched more Blue Peter in your younger days lol

recreate the pattern while the filler is going off with a bit of course sandpaper pressed against it or vinyl. Smear some filler over a slightly larger area than the hole and emboss the filler, once you have sprayed it sprinkle some sand or grit over it.

You should have watched more Blue Peter in your younger days lol

 

i was actually going to get some dog poo and put on it, and the tyre, that would get any MOT tester well away from that area. then give it a good clean after.

 

i did think about putting a bit of filler on it and using a meat hammer to give it some texture, or just fillering the the whole skirt and smoothing it off, and leaving the other side, just so i can say im smoothing it lol

a bit of broken polystyrene pressed into semi wet filler will give a pretty good match to the stone chip on the sills . then a little spin around a muddy field should finish off the blending effect .

a bit of broken polystyrene pressed into semi wet filler will give a pretty good match to the stone chip on the sills . then a little spin around a muddy field should finish off the blending effect .

 

Good tip that man, going to sand it down tomorrow, and then apply an outer layer of filler (if the filler ive used already doesn't just fall out when sanding lol) and then see if i can texture a new layer. well all depends on how much another MOT station will charge for repairs, no point phoning and asking the place im going to take it lol

 

It is however solid, wouldn't hold up to a impact but you cant push it into the body work lol

What amps would i be looking at and what rods to do a sill repair?

 

I have a 130amp arc welder just need to know what rods id need to use and what setting to put it on so i don't put more holes in it, and i get a good weld.

 

I know you have repaired it now, but if you do try to weld it in the future, and if you have the choice, try using 1/16" (1.6mm) 7014 rods.

 

Start on your lowest setting, and step up, until it penetrates properly.

 

Make sure you keep your earth clamp as close to your weld as poss to reduce resistance - that will keep the voltage and power down, so in theory, less heat at the electrode.

 

Don't try running a seam, stitch it, covering about 1-2 electrodes width at a time, about 2 seconds apart, or just enough time to let the glow die off. Don't wait too long, or you will end up with a run of cold welds on top of each other.

 

If it is blowing holes, try holding/clamping a heat sink next to your weld - a big fat brass padlock or similar is ideal. That will help with limiting any distortion.

tig can be a douche bag when working on cars, because youve gotta get everything pretty dam cl;ean to keep the weld uncontaminated. lovely way of welding though once you have teh swing of it, allows very precise work. glad things are getting sorted out though.

you can use arc welder using 1.6 mm rods and as long as the metal is reasonable it will tack weld ok did it for years when i was a apprentice lol rebuild all my escorts up with a stick welder lol

rich

you can use arc welder using 1.6 mm rods and as long as the metal is reasonable it will tack weld ok did it for years when i was a apprentice lol rebuild all my escorts up with a stick welder lol

rich

 

well I've done spot welding before, but that was part of my old job, bit different to seam welding, but was going to strike the arc and put a spot to hold the plate in place at regular intervals, then join them up in sections doing opposite sides between joins, if that makes any sense to keep the heat distortion down a bit.

well I've done spot welding before, but that was part of my old job, bit different to seam welding, but was going to strike the arc and put a spot to hold the plate in place at regular intervals, then join them up in sections doing opposite sides between joins, if that makes any sense to keep the heat distortion down a bit.

 

Sounds like a plan. :thumbup: