I am going to be doing quater panels on my car and am wondering if the mic welder i have is good enough. It's a 70 amp, welds from 18 gauge to 3/16 steel .030" and .035" flux core wire. I'm doing full face patch panels on a 72 chevlle. also plan on buying a compressor would a 60 gal. 7HP 135psi compressor be enough to do a paint job? Thanks for any help!

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A Little Power Is Good,
More Is Better,
To Much Is Just Right!

before you buy the compressor, find out its cfm rating; then go searching for a spray gun, most use alot of cfm and you may not have enough; but some make guns that use less cfm; so I would make sure the compressor will push the air necessary for the spray gun you choose; buy them both as a unit, in effect, at about the same time.

Can your welder use gas for shielding? Flux core contaminates welds IMHO and should be avoided. If you are stuck and have no options use it. Practice welding on scrap doors or hoods, here is were you learn the tricks. DON'T PRACTICE ON THE CAR. Stop at a local body shop and pry some knowlwdge from the guys. Ask questions and see if they have a scrap panel you could practice on. It will cost pizza and beverage, but that is cheap for what you can learn.

If you plan of painting you need to buy a compressor that can handle the gun. HVLP guns use large amounts of air known as CFM at low pressure. My SATA that I use for primer runs at around 45-50 cfm. If your compressor cant handle the gun the gun wont shoot properly, resulting in very poor results. A conventional gun works the other way it uses high pressure and low volume to work. So if your compressor cant handle a HVLP gun you can switch to a conventional gun to spray with.

Also agree you need to get the shielded gas setup. Shielded gas will produce a higher quailty weld and easier weld to make. Much easier to learn how to weld with gas. As for the wire size I would go with .023 wire. .023 wire takes alot less heat to melt then .030 which in turn makes less warpage. In my book 30 wire is a bit of a overkill for sheetmetal.

Practice practice practice. Practice on the same gauge of metal and practice doing all sorts of welds. Do butt welds, lap, spot or plug. Continue to practice that one weld til you master it then move on. Start by just running a simple bead on top of metal. Get a hang of the welder and the settings, try the different methods, push and pull...Eric

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1970 chevelle
1970 chevelle SS455 not a typo its a BUICK BABY
1949 and 1972 chevy trucks
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/sevt_chevelles

Eric, the Sata needs about 14 CFM at I think 29 PSI. I know of no gun or tool that would get anywhere near 45-50 CFM. I have seen you talk here about CFM and are right on. I think you must be tired tonight. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

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1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

If you can covert your welder to gas, its worth it, however the flux core can be used, you will just have more slag to grind off and it may be just a bit harder to handle. The gas will give you a much nicer job, however I have not converted my weld pack
yet because it has done everthing I have asked it to do so far including several body panels. Just practice a bit before you start on the car and don't be afraid, just get in there and go. Once I got over the fear of burning through it became so much easier,back filling blow throughs gets to be real easy after you do it a bunch also http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif
you should only weld an inch or 2 at a time and alternate between ends after its tacked in place to avoid warping. I use clecos
to to hold the panels in place then weld up the holes when i'm done .
As far as air I would check into the sharpe platnium series of guns which they say will work with 7.5 cfm(the low output hvlp platnium) unless you compressor is able to push 12-15 cfm plus. With clears I found that it starts going on rough when the compressor can't keep up, so you definetly want enough air for the gun, it will save you alot of sanding and buffing in the end.

Martin thanks for catching my error on that, and yes it was late in Iowa...Eric

Get in there and Go....Ilike that approach! I too was going to pick up some scrap sheetmetal and try my luck. Are there any books I could read on welding before I start burning holes?
Thanks,
T

Experience! It won't take long just practice
until you feel comfortable.

If you want books or even videos call this number for a free catalog 1-800-747-4631. Those books and videos are made by my auto body HERO Ron Covell. The guy is one of best metal workers ever in my book...Eric

I just bought a CD of e-bay on welding and maching. It was only 6.00 with shipping and appears to be very detailed. It was under search Welder. My work sch provides no opportunity to attend classes

Good Luck
BobH