Holes in a Mini

[JonnyAlpha]

Ok;

About the get my first welder, I'll do some practice first to get competent but the reason I bought it is because my son bought a mini and although we have spent £160 on welding (£10 per hour work associate) it still needs work doing on the back end.

First job is some holes in the top of the wheel arch on the inside of the boot.

My question is can you fill small holes with weld or do I need to cut out the affected area and weld in a patch? However when welding in a patch how do I get it flush with the surrounding metal what's the trade trick of holding a patch in a hole??

I do know however with holes made by rust that once you clean of the paint its always a lot worst underneath, I'm guessing to do the job proper I would need to remove any rust and get back to clean metal before attempting the weld repair?

Ta

 

[Chickenjohn]

Ok;

About the get my first welder, I'll do some practice first to get competent but the reason I bought it is because my son bought a mini and although we have spent £160 on welding (£10 per hour work associate) it still needs work doing on the back end.

First job is some holes in the top of the wheel arch on the inside of the boot.

My question is can you fill small holes with weld or do I need to cut out the affected area and weld in a patch? However when welding in a patch how do I get it flush with the surrounding metal what's the trade trick of holding a patch in a hole??

-snip-
Ta

VERY small holes/gaps can be filled with weld, although this is difficult to do unless you are an experienced car welder. You need to hold a piece of copper or brass behind the hole on the other side to act as a heat sink so you don't just blow the hole even bigger.

As for making a patch fit flush to the panelwork, cut and shape the patch to size so it will replace all the rust, scribe around the patch and then accurately cut the panel, file/grind panel/patch till the patch fits perfectly.

To hold the repair piece in place for tacking, there are a few methods, a bit of tape can hold it in place while you get the first few tacks, (tape may melt!) or use a welders magnet to hold the repair section accurately in the hole.

"I do know however with holes made by rust that once you clean of the paint its always a lot worst underneath, I'm guessing to do the job proper I would need to remove any rust and get back to clean metal before attempting the weld repair? "

Yes! Especially remove all underseal/seam sealer/ stonechip in the areas as these paints are very good at hiding rust.

 

[Gas mark 5]

A tip someone told me for holding small patches in place, is to drill a tiny hole in the middle of the patch, and force an ordinary wood screw into it. It gives you something to hold onto to position in until it's tacked in place, then just unscrew it and put a blob of weld over the hole.

Good luck!

 

[ibrooks]

One of the reasons for cutting the rust out is to get back to metal that's still the original thickness. Some people will happily grind the rust off the surface and then try to just fill holes that have appeared with no regard for the fact that the metal around it might have been reduced to tinfoil. My advice is not to muck around grinding away at rust but to get the paint/underseal off the affected area and chop around it.

Making the patches flush is OK where it's visible but under the wheel-arch I'd just make the patch oversize. Then seam weld it on both sides i.e. around the edges of the hole on one side and then around the outside of the patch on the other side.

Iain

 

[JonnyAlpha]

Magnets and wood screws, some great tips, glad I asked.
Found some draper magnets Here
But I also see some cheaper ones by Silverline?

I also see the sense in the fact that its easier to make a patch then cut a hole in the bodywork the size of the patch than the other way round.

Thanks

 

[tux]

Draper, Silverline, even cheaper at your local market. A magnet is a magnet as far as I am concerned!
Its worth spending some time getting the repair patch to fit the hole as exactly as possible as even a slight gap will make it a lot more difficult to weld nicely.

Keep us up to date with your progress!

 

[Ian D]

Good on you for having a go but if i could get car welding done for £10 an hour, i would pay to have it done, and i can weld and have all the gear.
I have said it before but clean prep the metal as much as humanly possable, it will make your life much eaiser. Ian

 

[JonnyAlpha]

It was only £10 per hour because the guy is a Metal Smith by trade and does private work in his spare time. Problem is he is in such demand it took from Aug to Dec to get the 16 hours done and there's probably the same amount left to do!!
Surely you get more satisfaction doing the work yourself??

I'm about to find out....