Podguy

I am working on some front fenders and they have cracks in the rim. I also want to weld up some of the holes for the spoiler and the side strips.

I recently sold my MIG welder, primarily because it was a cheap unit and did not support gas. So now I am looking to replace the welder with a better one. I can either go with a new MIG with gas support and aluminum wire feed. Or I can go with a TIG welder. I have not used a TIG before. I understand they are much slower than a MIG, but for the amount of welding I do that is not much of a concern. The TIG also can be used as a stick welder, which in most cases would replace the MIG.

Any ideas on this?

BTW I have some Alumina Weld, but this stuff has to go on at very near the melting point of aluminum and I have messed up pieces before. Melting a fender is probably more than I want to loose. Aladdin sells some 3 in 1 rod and a lower melting point Aluminum rod. Any one use any of these products? Aladdin sends out a very fancy catalog.

Thanks

Dan the Pod Guy

JHowell37

For welding aluminum TIG is the recommended way to go. For holes on sheet steel, TIG or gas MIG is fine. I'm going to try brazing some of the cracks in my aluminum fenders as a last ditch thing before I toss them and get some that are crack free.

GUMBALL

For what you are doing, only a TIG will do the fine work. As I was always told, a MIG is for building bridges and ships, a TIG is for cars.

Just a thought while on this subject, when you do weld the fender cracks, MAKE SURE to unplug both ECU's as well as the battery.

JHowell37

Even better, remove the fenders from the car.

Kevin Michael

Dan, If you don't want to get into alot of work here, maybe you should consider this option. We often use SEM panel adhesive in places that welding is a pain. TIG welding aluminum is a practice and if you have never done it, quite frustrating. The SEM is STRONG! I think it would be perfect for what you are trying to do.
Kevin

Fabio421

I think you would be better off having someone else do it who is familiar with the process. You stated that you don't want to ruin your fenders but thats most likely what you will do if you are not experienced with the proceedure. You can use a MIG to do it but you will need to have a teflon liner in your stinger or better yet, use a spool gun. A spool gun is basicly a mig stinger that has a small spool of wire in the gun itself. Its alot heavier than what you are used to but its necessary because the soft aluminum wire tends to bind between the head unit and the gun. Teflon liners are supposed to help with this problem but they don't eliminate it. If you go this route you will need Helium as your shielding gas. For some reason the MIG process doesn't lend itself to welding Alum. as the TIG. A TIG is best suited for your application. If you decide to go this route find some similar gauge aluminum and practice. Practice welding beer cans together end to end.

Have fun.

dr bob

+1 on the Practice-Practice-Practice with other aluminum items. +2 on getting an experienced welder to do it for you. I used to think I was an OK aluminum welder (had process piping certs) but worked with fokks who were absolute artists with the TIG on aluminum.

Welding aluminum well is all about heat control too. As you go shopping, make sure you get a pedal to modulate the heat. Be aware that the heat moves around quickly in the aluminum parts, and warpage is a common problem among less experienced welders. You start to get a good puddle going, and you need to stop an let everything cool down and start over again. More than a few good parts have come out looking like a perfect Pringle after welding, and a fender is a perfect candidate.

My local community college offers welding classes. Maybe yours does too. Take their lessons, use their machines and suppplies, practice-practice-practice until you are really good. Then have the instructor wel your fender cracks for you.

Oh-- You can gas weld aluminum too if you know what you are doing. Process is a lot slower (same as 'more forgiving') than TIG. Might be an option.

BC

Dan - I found a great site:

www.metalmeet.com Everything you could ever want to learn.

scott863

Get a new fender, as you'll have to repaint anyway because of the welding. I have a poorly repaired pass fender that will be tossed and replaced like it should have been in the first place.

Fabio421

This is a great idea. You get to learn how to weld. You get your part welded and you don't have to lay out alot of $$$ on machines right away.

tammons

Tig or Aluminum solder.

I used it to block off the turn signal holes ona custom build.

Home depot used to carry it. Get the solid rod kind

Podguy

Well I have done a little more research. First I not sure a college course will be of much help. I have been welding off and on for over 40 years.

TIG is attractive, but the more I look at it the less inclined I am to go that route. There is a huge difference in the cost of TIG welders. Harbor Freight has one for around $200. But then you still need to buy a tank and regulator and some welding supplies. The Harbor Freight model has only one mode and no pedal or trigger to control the amperage. The next step up are combination units that do TIG, Stick Welding and Plasma Cutting. Again these units are limited and get up quickly in the $600 range. It looks like to get a decent TIG welder you have to spend between $1500 and $3000. I could pay someone many times to weld up little cracks for that kind of money.

The entry price combined with the diffuculty of getting good welds with a cheap machine kind of rules out a TIG. The next comes MIG welding. The aluminum wire breaks easily in a MIG welder requiring a special sheath. The work around is to have the spool feed in the handle. There are a couple of reasonable units out there in the $500 range less the tank. Since I do want to get another MIG welder I might go this route later.

I am a fairly good gas welder and feel confortable with the torch. The Alumna Weld product leaves a little to be desired. The welds easily crack and the stuff is more like soldering than welding.

Doing a little research on the Web and I came across the Tin Man's web site. He is a big advocate for aluminum gas welding. The results look good and much cheaper to get into. He is very negative of the 3 in 1 products. Here is a link to the site.

http://tinmantech.chainreactionweb.com/index.php
http://tinmantech.chainreactionweb.com/html/gallery.php

Lots of good articles. Someone who can build a Ferrari out of aluminum from pictures has my vote.

Maybe if I was fabricating a lot of things then a TIG might be the way to go. But my goal is to be able to fix cracks and fill holes in the fenders. I already have a torch. A TIG with a gas tank would be just another piece of very expensive equipment taking up shop space.

I will let everyone know how this experiment works out.

Dan the Pod Guy soon to be an Aluminum Gas Welder

Podguy

Scott,

If I was to throw out every fender with a crack I would have no fenders left. It is difficult to find fenders without at least one or two cracks in the edges. Anyone messing with the front spoiler will probably find cracks close to the top of the spoiler as it attaches to the fender.

Aluminum is an easy metal to work when you know how to work it. There is no reason to trash a fender because it has a crack or even a few dents. Here again I have a hard time finding fenders without a few dings.

But if you are going to throw out some fenders throw them my way and I will repair them.

Dan the Pod Guy

blown 87

That is what we are doing with mine for the holes from the rub strips.

I have a very good miller TIG, and I have a buddy that is a artist with thin AL and a TIG.

my body guy swears by this stuff and says that if it ever comes loose or shows a ring he will repaint my car for free.

The hardest part is going to be getting the filler peices for the holes just right.

Larry Velk

VERY useful info. But.... what alloy(s) are used on the 928? Anything I ever see on Al always says "with alloy XXXX, use 'whacko# 666 rod' ". Thank goodness I don't need to weld up my car, but my brother's has a crack in the fender and if he ever drives the thing back here to the midwest - I'm gonna get involved!
The "TM" site is great.