72 Charger - Long Awaited Update...

[72Charger-SE]

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[72Charger-SE]

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[72Charger-SE]

With a little creativity I was able to get the proper rounded shape for the quarter panel lip.  I am still not a good welder but a higher end welder makes nice welds possible...   Here is my Lincoln 180 that I picked up a couple weeks ago.  Quite the upgrade from the Century 125L that I have. 

[72Charger-SE]

Update...

I decided to tackle the rusted hood bolt areas...  this is the passenger side...   Not bad but really difficult to grind down the welds..  I need to 'clean it up' but overall I am pleased with the end result.

[ACUDANUT]

It's going to be hard to hide. 

[JB400]

Not really.  Most of it will be hidden by the hood hinge.  Touch it up with a grinder, spray in a little high build filler and sand.

Afterwards, 99% of the people that'll see it won't notice anything done to it.


I'm liking the progress being done
                                 

[Charger-Bodie]

Forward progress is a great motivational tool. Keep going !



Chad,  you may already realize thia, but each of these patches that will be smoothed with  filler , the welds need to end up with the perimeter totally sealed with weld. a small pinhole could become a rust bubble soon after it start seeing moisture.......

[72Charger-SE]

Forward progress is a great motivational tool. Keep going !



Chad,  you may already realize thia, but each of these patches that will be smoothed with  filler , the welds need to end up with the perimeter totally sealed with weld. a small pinhole could become a rust bubble soon after it start seeing moisture.......

Brian, I would have to say that I am not fully aware of this.  So, I need to run a 'complete' bead all the way around the entire piece of welded in metal so there are absolutely no gaps?  If so, how do I prevent the 'warping of the metal'?  Will I be 'tacking' each spot till all spots are filled?  My biggest challenge is my poor welding helmet I currently have.  I ordered a new Viking 3550 on Thursday and I simply cannot see the proper line to weld and end up 'missing' areas.

On the topic, several other body work people said that the filler will protect and no moisture will be able to get into the welded areas?  Is this not correct?   I am planning on using Rust Bullet for the entire underside, engine compartment, interior, roof, trunk and all sides of the car.  Will this help me in any way or is 'filling in' the welded areas the 'right' way?   I don't want to do this process twice so if that is the best way to do this...  then that is what I will do.

As always Thanks for your professional input.  I greatly appreciate it.

[Charger-Bodie]

Yes, The weld needs to make the patch sealed and as one with the rest of the panel. you must keep tacking,while jumping around the patch and cooling it with air to avoid warpage. If moisture can attack filler from behind through condensation or anything the plastic filler will absorb the moisture and a bubble will form. Some will even say duraglass or similar will seal it and it is far more resistant to moisture , but it should be used as a final seal of your tight welds not as a seal of its own. What i like to do on seam welded patches on exterior panel is to spray a heavy coat of epoxy primer-sealer on the welded areas to make sure that even if you have a tiny pinhole in the weld(its bound to happen) the epoxy will seal it off and is the most resistant to moisture. Follow that with Duraglass then regular body filler to smooth it all out and you should have a long lasting repair.

[72Charger-SE]

OK... I spent some time 'cleaning' this up today...   To be clear, I believe I need to make all welded patches look 'complete' like this one, correct?

[Charger-Bodie]

Much better.

[ACUDANUT]

 

[nvrbdn]

 

[Charger-Bodie]

Just be careful when grinding that you don't make the metal too hot or thin.

[72Charger-SE]

Just be careful when grinding that you don't make the metal too hot or thin.

Yep... Lesson learned on that one...  the hard way...  

[71seguy]

keep posting pics man ! im in the same boat with my 71 doing damn rust work !

[72Charger-SE]

keep posting pics man ! im in the same boat with my 71 doing damn rust work !

What areas are you fighting the most?  How far along are you on your build?  Do you have a thread out here too?

[72Charger-SE]

Decided to work more on the inner fender...   Rust around the shock tower... 

[72Charger-SE]

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[72Charger-SE]

And... I ran out of welding wire..   Went to get some at Theisens...   AND... bought the wrong size....   Guess I am done for the night....   

[Baldwinvette77]

And... I ran out of welding wire..   Went to get some at Theisens...   AND... bought the wrong size....   Guess I am done for the night....   

i lost count of the amount of times i ran out of wire in the middle of something  , bought the wrong size once, and the wrong core another time 

[RallyeMike]

I had a good time reading this and remembering back when i was doing my first sheet metal rust repairs. I made all the typical mistakes like not trimming back far enough from the rust, welder settings, warping metal, and leaving pinholes. I gotta give you a big high-5 for doing this yourself and learning some new skills  

MIG butt-welding sheet metal is hard to do! It takes a lot of practice for all but the gifted. I think you should try a few things that you'll find will be helpful:

1) Grind the primer back from the weld area at least 1 inch. If you are volatilizing primer, its interfering with your weld quality. Clean metal is critical to good weld quality. The localized heat you put into the metal is going to damage the primer anyway, so grind it way back from the weld.

2) You can save a lot of grinding time and expense if you keep playing with the welder settings some more. How far you hold the welder tip from the metal also can make a difference. The best weld should fuse the metal without creating an 1/8" tall glob to grind down. Keep adjusting until you can get this result, and boy will you be happy!

As was mentioned previously, the real key to quality here is patience in getting a full weld without warping the metal. You are basically creating overlapping spot-welds to tie everything together, and you just have to let it cool and come back to it over and over and over. Working on several spots at the same time allow you to move around and let things cool without impatience getting the best of you.

When grinding down the weld beads, I typically use a 4" angle grinder with a stone to get it close, taking care not to grind any adjacent metal, and then I touch it up with an 80-grit disk for the final smoothing. The 80-grit disk leaves a nice clean finish surface.

Good luck.

[72Charger-SE]

Thanks for the 'applause'...    I am humbled in my welding, to say the least...   

I am learning a lot but definitely struggle more than not.  You are correct, I spend more time grinding down than welding.  One of my greatest challenges is having to hold a flashlight/spot light in one hand and weld with the other.  I need the flashlight so I can see thru the screen on my inexpensive/cheap welding helmet.  This has been less than productive.  I have a new helmet (Viking 3550) on order and it will increase my area of vision as well as provide a much needed 'clearer' view without the flashlight when getting ready to weld.  The $20 helmet from Northern Tool just is not cutting it and I spend a lot of time 'missing' my welding spots.    The best welding I did was when my son was assisting me and held the flashlight so I could weld with two hands.   

I am the first to admit...  welding is an ART... and although a good welder can assist with the shortcomings of skill level, the art of it can't be 'covered' with a better welder.  Thanks for the advice and comments.  Both are very much appreciated.   

I am sure there is a formula to calculate the number of grinding wheels to feet of welds that should be used.  Right now I have have a 'box' of grinding wheels and sadly it is almost empty. 

[72Charger-SE]

Tonight UPS delivered my new Viking 3550 welding helmet.      It is AWESOME!   I CAN SEE!!!  WOO HOO!!   

So... with that I decided to tackle probably the 'thinnest metal' on the entire car, the top rail of the inner fender (where the outer fender attaches).  Wow... To say this was a challenge is an understatement.  I am not completely satisfied with the results however I the goal was to do 'rust repair' so that is what I am focused on. 

Here are some photos of the progress from tonight.   

First...  The Damage....

[72Charger-SE]

Now some patching & structure building...