Car is blocked out and started laying the putty

Zymurgy

Old Man with a Hat
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I got the car all blocked out and some of the minor body work finished, and started laying down putty. I found one spot on the driver’s door that some body work for a very small dent. Other than that repair, everything else was “repaired” with a rattle can of paint.

I was glad to find out that the rust in the quarter panels didn’t creep up further into the good steel, so the metal to be cut out will be fairly minimal.
Blocked back.sm.jpgBlocked front.sm.jpg

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Blocked front.sm.jpg
 
nothing worse than opening up the outer metal and finding the inner metal toast.

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I am hoping to get it to my body man in two weeks to weld in the new metal, in the quarter panels and repair the bad dent in the crease of the passenger door. I am basicially on schedule if the weather will cooperate. I won't tow it on wet salty roads.
 
Did quite a share of bodywork, mostly rust repairs for two decades but I still get surprised occasionally how bad completely unassuming little spots can be when you start cutting them out. Just recently dropped the tank and part of the suspension for repair of both frame rails on the back of the dd where just a tiny spot was "dented" from rust growing underneath. This was the easy side not to scare you: :)

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Do you lap or butt weld?

I lap weld, which is why I'm hiring a guy to butt weld in the new metal.

I played around a bit a couple of months ago without much luck and was disappointed in my efforts. I already have a door that I can’t get straighten out either so the guy I hired is going to take care of those items and then evaluate my putty work for me.
 
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I buttweld most areas like the one in the pic as well but a complete outside wheel lip for example I put in with an overlap with the lower part crimped to have an even surface. If you use a special primer underneath there are no rust issues either and it actually has more stability. Just don't butt weld any frame rails, they have to be welded with an overlap and even be cut at the right place and right angle if you're doing it by the book.
 
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I buttweld most areas like the one in the pic as well but a complete outside wheel lip for example I put in with an overlap with the lower part crimped to have an even surface. If you use a special primer underneath there are no rust issues either and it actually has more stability. Just don't butt weld any frame rails, they have to be welded with an overlap and even be cut at the right place and right angle if you're doing it by the book.

Beautiful work. I have great admiration for anyone who can weld this tin. I’m pretty good with ¼ inch steel but anything that moves when a heat it up and seems easier to blow a hole is definitely not my thing. I would like to learn but not this go around.
 
It has a lot to do with your welder and dialing it in properly for what you are doing. What welder were you using?
 
True Story: Was friends for many years with a professional welder who was certified and worked the highest level projects. Atomic. Aeronatical. Exotic metals. On the jobs that were most demanding and critical, he took halucinigetics to insure he put 100% concentration into it.
I guessed it worked......

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Is that when he invented the square roller? :eusa_think:
His favorite entertainment trick was to remove the top of one soda can and the bottom of another soda can and weld the two together seamlessly into one tall can. FREAKIN amazing. Scary almost.
 
I butt-welded in a floor section in my 65 Dart last summer, using my $90 Harbor Freight flux-core welder. It wasn't easy. Even backing it up w/ a copper spoon, I blew many holes. It is structurally sound, but I ended up covering the seams w/ fiberglass cloth. I started wishing I had butt-welded it, since stronger and the floor isn't visible. One guy later told me he uses a common 20A dimmer switch on his welder to decrease the power for sheet metal. I'll try that next time. Even on exhaust pipes, I sometimes burn a hole.
 
I have a friend that did the bodywork and painted one of my previous projects and could do amazing repairs with cars that you just thought that couldn't be fixed.
 
It has a lot to do with your welder and dialing it in properly for what you are doing. What welder were you using?

It was my cousin’s Lincoln TIG welder, so I don’t think I can blame it on the hardware. I only experimented once with it and quit almost as soon as I started. I think he probably has the skill to do it for me, but he works in much heavier steel and usually is doing a lap weld.
 
Oh yeah, you want to use mig on auto body. Gas shielded and a quality machine with infinite settings.
 
I was wondering about what method you use. TIG welding is supposed to be difficult, no experience at all with that. Matt's right about MIG welding. Way easier and good results with a little practicing, and there are some lower priced models that work fine as well, no idea about the US market, but my first one over here was about 300 Dollars or less and served me very well over 15 years. I bought a domestic make where you could easily order spare parts directly from the factory, needed a few cheap spare parts over the years.
After it was beyond economical repair I canibalized it by using the housing to fabricate some repair panels for the dd. :)
 
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