arc welder for car body repair?

[metalmickey]

Hi i'm new to the whole welding thing, I can paint a car and fix car but never done welding since school! about 20 years ago. I have the chance of a fan cooled arc welder upto 250 amps. I was wondering if this was ok for carbody repair or is mig better?

Hope someone can help!

 

[the snooper]

arc welding isnt the best for car work in fact its quite bad really what you will have to look at is what is the lowest amperage it will go down to a 250 amp set wont run off a 13 amp socket

 

[cumbriasteve]

With an arc welder the usual method to avoid blowing through on the strike up, is you have to strike on a thick bit of plate and then run onto the car bodywork, even for an experienced welder this is very difficult, I have used arc welders for many years and may be able to call myself experienced with them, I would never consider using one on car work.
As Snooper mentions, once you go above 140 amp you will be blowing 13amp fuses, not that you would on car work of course.

 

[the snooper]

i used to weld cars regularly over a 5 year period with an arc and you do get used to it but i would never go back to doing it get a mig much easier, quicker and cleaner

 

[keith19]

If it's mostly bodywork you'll be doing, stick to a mig!

I've used arc welding on patches, floor panels and footwells on Morris Minors many years ago, but cars had a bit more metal on them then, around 1.2 mm or even 1.6 mm on a floor pan. Easiest ever was a rallied SAAB 96; it had steel 2 mm thick on the floor - a doddle to replace.

Apart from needing lots more practice than a mig, arc welding takes so much longer on car panels if you don't want to keep blowing through, and you need to clean a previous weld before restarting on it.

But if you get only a mig in the 100 amp range, an arc welder can be very useful for heavier stuff occasionally, once you get some practice in.

 

[GeorgeB]

I used an arc welder to repair sills for the MOT. See here:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=10405

Another member said he had: "always been under the impression that Arc welding isnt good enough for MOT work.......But I could be proved wrong"

He was proved wrong!

If you want an easy life, MIG may be better, if more expensive.

Search also for "arc MOT" for examples of other members' projects.

 

[Wozzaaah]

ARC: Blob, blob, unstick rod, blob, unstick rod...chip, chip, chip......blob, blob, unstick rod, blob...chip, chip chip.....go back over and fill in the holes you've just blown, unstick rod, chip, chip, chip...repeat until patch is attached then grind, grind, grind, find more pinholes so fire the welder up again etc.

MIG: Bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz etc... grind.........job done.
That's why mums go to Iceland and also why 99.9% of car repairers use mig welders.

 

[GeorgeB]

ARC: Blob, blob, unstick rod, blob, unstick rod...chip, chip, chip......blob, blob, unstick rod, blob...chip, chip chip.....go back over and fill in the holes you've just blown, unstick rod, chip, chip, chip...repeat until patch is attached then grind, grind, grind, find more pinholes so fire the welder up again etc.

Here you have it - ridicule vs firm evidence and an MOT pass certificate. It's always the same here when arc vs MIG comes up. I didn't blow a single hole using my arc welder for the sill repair, although I admit it's probably more time consuming than using a MIG, and almost certainly requires more practice. MIG is the obvious choice so why is it necessary to try and knock arc welding into the ground?

 

[Wozzaaah]

It's not ridicule for goodness sake, and it's certainly not aimed at you!
I was just pointing out the well-known fact that point and squirt mig vs fiddly stick wins hands down for car repairs, always has and (until something better comes along) always will and was trying to demonstrate that with the aid of a little humour.
I'm not knocking arc welding into the ground, I love a bit of stick welding every now and again but I, along with most just don't feel it's to be recommended for car repairs though it will suffice if it's the only method available and you don't mind all the fiddly stuff that it entails.
Chill out George, please!

 

[slimjim]

must admit that I wave done plenty of arc welding on cars, but its certainly not easy, even managed to weld using a couple of car batteries and jump leads, have even seen someone stick welding using a truck alternator, nowerdays though I use a mig, because its easier

 

[stucktoweld]

It's not ridicule for goodness sake, and it's certainly not aimed at you!
I was just pointing out the well-known fact that point and squirt mig vs fiddly stick wins hands down for car repairs, always has and (until something better comes along) always will and was trying to demonstrate that with the aid of a little humour.
I'm not knocking arc welding into the ground, I love a bit of stick welding every now and again but I, along with most just don't feel it's to be recommended for car repairs though it will suffice if it's the only method available and you don't mind all the fiddly stuff that it entails.
Chill out George, please!

I for one thought it was funny Woz
A little like having a bee in your helmet not a lot of fun

 

[metalmickey]

Thanks very much for all your comment, I think i'll use the arc for a spit and some trolleys to move the car around.

 

[Dr pepper]

My arc set is handy for doing cast and heavy stuff, as well as outside jobs as wind doesnt blow the gas away.
Arcs can also be used with a single sided spotter, usefull for car stuff.
As mentioned you can do the job with a stick, if your doing more than just the odd repair a mig will do you much better, I went from bodging a mgb with a stick set to a reasonable mig, and couldnt believe the difference.

 

[scarecrow]

ARC: Blob, blob, unstick rod, blob, unstick rod...chip, chip, chip......blob, blob, unstick rod, blob...chip, chip chip.....go back over and fill in the holes you've just blown, unstick rod, chip, chip, chip...repeat until patch is attached then grind, grind, grind, find more pinholes so fire the welder up again etc.

MIG: Bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz etc... grind.........job done.
That's why mums go to Iceland and also why 99.9% of car repairers use mig welders.

It's not ridicule for goodness sake, and it's certainly not aimed at you!
.
Chill out George, please!

funny but maybe that should be 99.98%

 

[rkde]

I learnt to weld with arc and put a few cars through with a arc welding now I have a mig I wouldn't even go through the hassle and mess of it. I recall all the slag being chipped off and always going in my eye I know at one point I used to put a 4mm rod is with the flux took off and use it as a rough plasma type cutter through 1mm steel, those days have also passed, cut well though