what wire for sheet metal?

[hungrymonkey]

I have a lincoln wire feed, and i want to patch the floor pans on my truck.

I will be cutting out the rusted metal and patching it with some sheet metal that I already have. Just need to cut to fit. i will lap weld it and grind it smooth.

What type of wire do I need to buy to do this? i will be heading north to a bigger city today in search of it.

 

[bgs66]

I have used about 12lbs. of .030 wire on my 66 fastback. A lot of rust repair but i also welded up a lot of areas like around the torque boxes in the rear. It seems to do the job pretty well. Good luck.

 

[danny clemens]

The smaller .025 is supposed to be better for sheet metal but I can't tell any difference. I'm sure that there is but maybe I don't weld enough to be in tune with the welder.

 

[hungrymonkey]

does it matter what composition the wire is?

ie, carbon steele, magnanese.

how about flux?

 

[68rustang]

The smallest wire I could find when I was doing my floors and quarters was .023" solid steel wire. You do not want flux core wire unless you do not have the ability to run gas. There is a huge difference when welding thin metal using .023" and .030" wire.

 

[hungrymonkey]

I do not have gas on it.

 

[dennis112]

I do not have gas on it.

Then go with the smallest flux core that you can find, which is probably .030. I've done body work with .035 fluxed, but it took a while to master. By the time I finished doing a radiator support, battery apron, floor pans, a cowl vent, 2 quarters, trunk floor, and a tailight panel, I was quite proficient. As always, make sure the welding surfaces are clean.

Want to see me doing it with my Lincoln flux core??? http://www.geocities.com/dennis_2685/Newcoupe.html

That said, I must say that a true mig works much better than the flux core. I prefer borrowing one when I have some serious welding to do.

 

[bigcat]

if you can get hooked up with gas, i recommend using ER70S-6 solid core wire, .023 if it is a 110v or .035 if it is a 220v welder..... it will be a huge difference in welding. the solid core is way better suited for bodywork. if you know your welding, you will also know what the ER70S-6 is, it is the industry standard in autobody repairs. welding with flux core wire will be frustrating while doing this work. good luck either way!

 

[hungrymonkey]

I might hold off and wait until I can get the stuff to convert to gas.

I hate blowing through after I just tacked something down.