I am being told that honda have a high alluminum content and is very difficult to weld the thin metal. Is this really that hard to do? I kno its been done just need info. Thanks for any replys...

 

Thin sheet is always tricky. As for hearing about aluminium content, never heard about it.
Key things, how big area are you going to be welding, can you take out the factory spots and weld from them. If its just arches, you could even basically use dual component automotive body glue, Uni-mix, 3M, etc make them, its tricky to use it, but alot of newer cars are repaired with bodyglue.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MrMug3n &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am being told that honda have a high alluminum content and is very difficult to weld the thin metal. Is this really that hard to do? I kno its been done just need info. Thanks for any replys... </TD></TR></TABLE>

they don't

yup, thin is tricky

no

yes you are not the first one to weld on a honda chassis

 

bronze welding could work nicely for you.

 

Brazing the panel with brass isnt all that great, makes future repairs hard. Not to mention brazing the body panel is alot harder than migging it, as temperatures from the torch heat the whole panel alot and the panel can warp.
I'd rather just mig it on.

 

bronze welding is not the same as brazing.

brazing would be a bad idea because paint doesnt stick well to brass.

 

Well unless you're absolutely a good welder, you'd need to use bodysolder or filler ontop of the brass, so no problem with the paint. Brass has one good quality, the seam wont rust.

 

im pretty sure filler doesnt adhere to brass either.

 

well either way if metal work is done filler is going to need to be used.....
Z grip is my fav.....but i kno thats not what this thread is about.

Go to your local high quality body shop and ask them what they use.....some can be dicks, some are nice, if you find a nice guy i'm sure he won't mind spending all of 2 minutes to explain to you what to use.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im pretty sure filler doesnt adhere to brass either.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Does just fine, I had a rear fender brazed with brass... it was a PITA to replace the fender and a lot of manufacteurers in the past (90's or so) used brass in some joints. In toyotas theres a brass weld connecting the C pillar to the roof and its from factory.

 

thats fine. books ive read on metal fabrication suggest otherwise. so i wouldnt do it. but people should figure that out on their own.

heres some back up, theres many things out on google like this:
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/...e32c3
look down 3 posts.

again, i think bronze welding with tig would be a really good way to do what he wants.
less heat that is concentrated would be good.

 

dude just mig it, end of story

 

Mig.

space your work out so you don't heat the panel too much and warp it.

 

any1 know what im doing wrong then cause the mig is too hot its melting right through the metal!!! im jus tacking on some extra metal i cut off the quarter and im not seein any way possible when my tak welds melt the metal instantly

 

Turn the heat down. If it is melting instantly you have the heat way to high. Needs to be on low heat and staggerd welds. Take your time. And do not weld in a continuouse line. Go from one side to the other. You do not want to meet in the middle though. I would say to keep your welds atleast 6 inches apart from each other till the other cools off.
Have a body hammer handy to tap down the metal a bit on the curves so as to not have it protruding. Makes body work alot faster. Same goes for the seam. You can not do body work on a flat surface. Needs to be in a bit. So after a while right when the metal is hot tap it a bit but not like a monster so as to bend the hell out of it. Just a tap to lower the metal a hair.
Lots of info but I am sick as a dog and felt like helping a bit.
I use a lincol mig something at work. Can't remember the name. But the setting on it for when I do seams on quarters is 4 and a quarter on the ARC give or take and a bit above 150 on the wire speed.
That is just the welder at work though. All are different. Good luck.

That's if your not done already lol

 

mig it...just try not to warp the panell..dont wnna make more work on urself

 

you can also back up the weld with a strip of copper to ensure you wont melt the panel

 

The way 99% of collision shops do it is tack it with the mig and filler for the rest.And you can braze it if you want but if its not a shop car and my guess you do not have the metal working skills or tools! Anything other than tacking will take a lot of planishing to get a finish. You can go to my company website and see the type of metal work we do so you can belive I know what I'm talking about. Most of the cars we restore are 1 of a kind aluminum body cars that are valued at over a million or they are one off coach builds.

 

some newer MIGs suck for this. They have a hot start that is built in and will not allow you to get a low enough amperage to tack 19 or 20g steel properly. Most of the smaller 110v MIG will work great for this though. At work I buttweld all repair pieces with TIG. usually under 30A and with a .030 er70 filler. It is all tacked at about 1" intervals. each tack is lightly hammered out to undo the shrinking then fully welded a couple feet at a time. Then I sand down just the weld bead and hammer it out again. It is very possible to get the panel within 1/16" of being perfectly straight with very little hammer and dolly work.

 

I tack mine with mig, start from mid seam and work my way to the edges, tack like 15cm from the previous tack and let it cool down after few tacks. Then keep going till I have a full seam. Works for me and never warped a panel.