How To Mig Weld Rusted Sheet Metal

I keep blowing through my thin sheet.

How to mig weld rusted sheet metal. As a general rule steel surfaces should be cleaned of any oil grease rust and mill scale before using any type of filler metal or consumable for any arc welding process. Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less. Tig welding sheet metal. These are all surface contaminants which can potentially adversely affect weld quality.

Try welding with a scrap sheet metal piece and practice many times until you start working on more important projects. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. For thinner gauge sheet metal like 18 or 20 gauge we suggest 023 6mm wire in your mig welder. There isn t a definitive answer to how one needs to approach welding sheet metal.

But there are several ways that one can do it. Experience plays a lot in this case but you also need to know the fundamentals that come with this type of welding. Namely heat is the biggest factor when welding thinner material. While replacing body panels overheating and warping thin sheet metal is common.

I keep it short and to the point in this welding instructional video and show how ve. Try going for a wire of 023 inches when welding sheet metal. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal. Place the welding tip wire at the gap and tack weld several small spots spacing them evenly apart.

Tack in a few places apart from each other and wait until the panel is cool to the touch. What consumables are better for welding over rusty dirty steel. Make sure to use an electrode wire that is thinner as it uses lesser heat and prevents blowing holes on to the sheet metal. Avoid warping the sheet metal.

Andy gives helpful insights and tips to mig weld thin sheet metal. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity.