hi guys,

I need to redo some parts of my car floor because of rust. I can't weld nor have acces to a welder (anyway i don't know how to weld). I want to go the cheap route because I am a broke university student and I only want the car to be strong and solid, I could care less of how it looks as long as it is safe.

Should I go with brazing ? Is it strong enough ? I have acces to a torch and brazing stick. I guess it would not be too hard to do.

Should I go with fiberglass ?

Should I forget about doing anything myself and go see a specialist ?

Let me know you experts...

Patrick

 

If you can braze you might as well weld with a torch and some coat hanger. It'll sorta work.

Easiest way would be to rent a flux-core mig welder from Home Depot for a day and go at it. Mig is one of the better methods to use for body work because you can just tack stuff on without anything warping. With tig it would pop and **** because it's rusty and you most likely won't be cleaning up the undercoating before hand.

 

you have to clean the material very well for braziong, but it is amazingly strong.

mechanical and chemical cleaning, meaning a wire wheel and brazing flux need to be used.

if youre willing to put in the work it takes, itll last a long time. but the thin sheetmetal will warp some, so GMAW is your best bet in all actuality.

-derek

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by backpurge &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you can braze you might as well weld with a torch and some coat hanger. It'll sorta work.

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It worked on a bumper support for my old school 2g prelude


I've actually done some body work utilizing brazing in that past. Trust me it is not fun at all. Controlling warpage is a losing battle no matter what you do. It is strong enough in my opinion but the cleanliness and tight fit up required make it a huge pain in the ***.


I'm sorry to say MIG is the way to go. Fluxcore works but it's kind of a bitch on thin metels (at least for me).

 

A home depot store just open its doors a few 100m from here (they're still rare in quebec), i'll go and see rated for a mig...

How close do I get with the weld spots..until they all touch ? (I know how to space them and to keep the thing cool i've tried MIG on thin metal a few times...)

thanks people

Patrick

 

I would weld a half inch at a time spaced at the the maximum distance apart (kind of like tightening a 5 bolt wheel) until you get closer and closer together.

 

thanks,


i'll update as I try not to screw up !

 

Rivets dude....good enough for aircraft...good enough for your floor pan which nooone sees.

Using a body panel bonding adhesive is another option. That's how you do weld free body work. Lots of options out there beside welding bro.

 

yeah I already did a few parts with fiberglass...

might as well try a good quality flexible putty...

rivet sounds good too..

you know understand why I asked questions before going any further...

thanks and feel free to add any pertinent infos..

 

My friends in the auto-body business tell me the new cars are nearly weld free.They use two part panel glue.Its amazing stuff.The metal will tear before the glue fails.