Tips for welding auto body panels

A car body is mostly made out of metal. With time the metal gets worn out, oxidized, rusty and rotten. If your car needs bodywork, hiring a professional can be pretty expensive. But if you know how to weld, then it will save you a great deal of money. So here are some tips for welding Auto Body Panels. Now, let’s get into it.

Tips for Welding Auto Body Panels

So in this part of the article, I will generally talk about rookie mistakes first-timers make while doing welding and bodywork. However, if you want to know about the best budget mig welder in the market, you can check this website. Okay, let’s see some stunning tips.

Don’t break it; try to cut it

If two plates are connected or overlapping each other, don’t try to break the welds with a drill or pry bar and a hammer. It may loosen up the weld, but it has a more significant drawback. You will end up bending up the plate, which just led to more work afterward. You should try to cut the back instead of trying to break those welds precisely.

Don’t over cut

The cut size is probably the most important thing. Be careful while making the cut-out. If you are not careful, the worst thing is you may end up with an overcut. If you have too big of a hole, it will surely end up being a lot of trouble. If you get a big cut, try to patch and add other pieces to fill the gaps. So it will be wise not to cut your hole too big.

A seam sealer does not hide flaws

If you are a newbie & never used a seam sealer before, It would kind of hide some of the imperfections, but it won’t hide the imperfections the way you thought they would. So it will still come out pretty ugly. So don’t count on-seam sealers to pretty it up.

Don’t use  Weldment as filler

Using weldments as filler may work, but it’s challenging to get an elegant finish out of it & you will end up wasting a lot of time and weldments. So cut the best that you can. If you need to fill some things, it’s better to bring in a piece about the size you need to fill it.

Make it shiny

You will need to grind down your metal before you weld it. Make it as shiny as possible. If you add the piece without grinding correctly, there is a high chance you will end up with a rusty and rotten body in a short period of time.

Pick a nice spot

pick a spot that you can fail on, and it won’t be that noticeable. So it will be kind of your learning spot because no one’s really going to see it. If it’s on the floor, you can just carpet it after welding.

Get a stock replacement plate

It will cost you up to $100 to $115. It will surely come in handy for stock replacement. Using a stock replacement plate is a wise choice instead of using weldments to fill the gap.

Check out the structural integrity

If the portion you are working with is solid & holding proper structural integrity, you don’t have to worry about welding. It won’t bend or tear up.

Don’t give up

Persistence is just a great learning exercise. If you are a newbie and don’t have a mentor to supervise, your dedication will be the key. If the welding looks unappealing, keep working on it. It’ll get better and eventually you’ll get satisfied with it.

Take the first step and continue

The most important thing is just to get started. So you can prepare and practice and do all kinds of reading, watching videos, and talking to people with welding experience. It’s ain’t that hard. you just gotta start cutting metal, start welding, do your best, and it’ll get there.

Final words

I hope you will find these tips for welding auto body panels helpful. Good luck with your projects. Take proper safety precautions before welding. Remember, it’s not about perfection, It’s about not giving up.  Best of luck!