Has anyone ever welded on the body panels of their car to close up some holes? Such as spoiler holes?

I'm wondering how hard it is to do without warping the panel and making it look like complete ****. I know the welds will need to be ground down and filler will need to be used afterwards, I'm just unsure of the warping aspect. Also what filler rod? er70s2 okay?

I will TIG it if it can be done, so I can weld it at a lower amperage than MIG.

BTW it's on my 09 si sedan, most are small 8mm diameter holes, and one is a rather large hole for the brake light wiring. Any tips on doing the brake light hole?


Or is this a bad idea all together, and should i just save up and buy a new trunk from honda? (i'm kinda broke right now, but want to put my damn type R spoiler on!!)

 

Do it with a MIG. We just filled some holes on our V6 240SX, used some scrap pieces from a CRX hood, cut them to fit and MIG'd them in with a little 110 Lincoln.

 

why mig? i do have access to a mig at my school, but it would be easier for me to do it at home with my tig.

 

TIG seems to warp it, even at low current. The MIG just works a lot faster, maybe it's me. We shaved the engine bay and filled the holes on one of our CRXs and I did like two holes with the TIG thinking it'd be smoother and less likely to warp... I was wrong. It may be me/my machine though. I have friends who work in body shops too though, and they always use MIG.

 

for this application... mig>tig.

take my word, done it both ways... tig warped the deck lid no matter how 'cold' and quick i did it.

 

Use a mig, keep everything clean. If the hole is to large to just tack shut, use a copper backing. Its easy, just keep the heat down.

Best of luck with your project.

 

Okay I can mig at school or bring it home with me. Is prep the same for mig? Like grind the paint off and wipe with Acetone?

 

Pretty much, the MIG is a bit more forgiving than TIG as far as clean prep goes.

 

like Top Ramen say use a copper backing will make like a whole lot easier

 

On a side note be sure to cover any glass when mig welding. Those berries will sit and stay where they land.

 

I would TIG it. I butt weld lots of 18-20g body work though. Just cut or punch out little patchs and fuse them into place and run a quick bead around it with .025 and it will stay really flat. If you can get a dolly on the back of the holes it really doesn't matter what you do as long as you can strech the metal back out. Grinding heats up the steel too, remember, so a nearly flush TIG bead is much less grinding (heat>shrinking>warping) than MIG.

 

thats what i figured, the holes are tiny and would only require a tiny bit of filler. the one large hole i would put sheet underneath and weld that sheet into place then use filler over that.
but everyone else is saying mig because of experience, so i might just do that.


i guess i could try my luck, if it comes out shitty i would purchase a new trunk, and i guess it won't set me back at all because i was going to buy a new trunk anyway and have that painted. so i'll let you guys know when i try it.

thanks for the help

 

thanks i know it does create a lot of spatter. i'm used to tig so i probably would have forgotten about that if i was welding it on the car. but i'll pull it off before i do any work to it, don't wanna ruin the rest of my nice new paint

 

Yea i watched someone weld on a wiper cowl with nothing covering the windshield... it has spider webs from one side of the glass clear across to the other side.

 

The fast action of a mig means less heat input than tig. It's ridiculously easy to warp body panels, especially on newer cars. Sometimes it will warp no matter what you do. Grinding isn't big deal if you take your time. Much more heat from the welding. mig it a little bit at a time and keep it cool with a wet rag. and make sure to use seam sealer on the back of the welds to prevent rust