Welding in a patch

[michibronc]

I'm welding the second quarter panel patch on the rear of the Bronc tomorrow. I've got a buddy who does the welding for me.

The first one went well - it's strong as a bull, but I found significant warping from the welds cooling as he welded all the way around the patch.

My welding buddy said that most body shops don't weld continuously, but they "stitch" it instead, leaving gaps between the beads of weld. Then they just fill the gaps with Bondo.

It seems to me that the continuous weld is much better, but I have so little experience with body work that I don't know.

Anyone with wisdom? It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Matt_V]

I dont have any personal experience with this, but I like to watch the auto shows on TV and have seen where they 'tack' it...then working around it slowly until they have an almost complete weld. This reduces warping as it gives different areas of the panel and adjacent metal to cool.

 

[WPW Bronco]

on the "thin" body panels, you should spot weld around the panel in a circular pattern, allowing each prior spot to cool to minimize warpage. Going in one continuous bead around the panel warms the metal to quickly and causes the warpage as it cools. I have never heard of a few spot welds and bondo-ing the rest, sounds like a chop shop to me. Take your time and it will turn out good.

 

[swampthing]

i went to school for auto body, worked in a body shop, and been doing body work for a long time...anytime i do something along them lines i would use this tool that crimps the metal (gives it a slight l bend to it very small) and pops a small hole in it and i would plug weld each one and throw a few stitches all the way around...then bondo everything smooth it out and be good to go

 

[am3gross]

i went to school for auto body, worked in a body shop, and been doing body work for a long time...anytime i do something along them lines i would use this tool that crimps the metal (gives it a slight l bend to it very small) and pops a small hole in it and i would plug weld each one and throw a few stitches all the way around...then bondo everything smooth it out and be good to go

the above post would be the way to do it but if you dont have the tools then i would do the welds in stages. do maybe 1-2 inch beads and then go to a different part of the work and do the same 1-2 inch beads. i dont know if you are but i would not try and cool the welds with water as this could make the welds brittle. not an expert at autobody by any means but i did go to school for welding. show us some pictures. i love to see how to articles! good luck

 

[michibronc]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll tell him to weld all the way around but do it in 1-2 inch sections. I don't have the crimping tool - wish I did.

 

[BB33's]

Swampthing is referring to a Punch/****** tool. It makes a ****** along the panel to be welded in and the punch side of it is used to put a hole in the top piece so that you can see the flanged panel. A slow continous spot weld working from the center until it meets the other metal piece seals the deal :blink: . I know its complicated to explain but once showed how to do it is very easy.

 

[swampthing]

well like i said i have been doing it for a long time, went to school for it, did it for a living so its easy work to me but yeah it is hard to explain....also cooling welds with water will also cause the welds/metal to rust faster

 

[Seabronc]

Personally, I'm not a fan of welding for two reasons: 1. The weld process as you have experienced can cause serious warpage. 2. every place there is a weld is an easy place for new rust to start, (generally of the galvanic rust variety, current passing between the panels). That is not to say a nice job can't be obtained if the welder knows what he is doing.

I have had great results by crimping, using body epoxy, and pop rivets to hold it in place while the epoxy sets. A lot of body shops are using the epoxy joining process in favor of welding. Then using bondo to fill the gap.

Good luck,

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