I've been welding patches to inner wings. Within 30cm of a suspension point.

 

As far as I can tell from MOT manual this repair must be a continuous seam.

I cut, prepped, shaped, clamped, welded 1.2mm steel sheet using 1.6mm rods.

(with an arc welder and Kelarc pistol).

 

So far so good, on the outside. 

 

It'll be mostly covered by the plastic wheel arch liner.

Will dress and PU seam seal it before painting, and undersealing.

 

Do I have to weld the other, harder to access, inside of the patch?

 

 

 

just the weld on one side should do it 

 

grind it smooth ish and seam sealer it ...what they cant see they cant fail 

Grinded smooth-ish. A few tiny holes revealed on the other patch I did first on offside of the car, which was not as neat (no picture).

 

Reason  - my welding rods had got damp in storage so were stocking not sparkling. Dried them in an oven at 150C for 20 mins. 

Still feels very solid. Might go over those holes with the spotwelder rod.

 

 Primed the ground surface in Zinc-182.

Some more grinding and welding rod touches later.

I used some rattle can paint, because it was too cold for the PU seam sealer which needs +5C.

 

epoxy primer is worth the investment on a car you want to keep ....10x more durable than zinc182 

I used a phosphoric rust convertor, epoxy paint(POR15) then waxoyl inside another cavity at back of nearside arch, then welded a patch over it. 
 

I used a loudspeaker magnet to hold the patch down while I tack-welded it in place.

(see pic)

The waxoyl burned a bit of course but the VW underseal only smoulders.

Going to underseal that too.

 

Ordered some grey epoxy 1K primer, not here yet.

 

Got the seam sealer applied in milder weather and covered again with zinc182.

 It's flipping sticky stuff. Put some on other awkward side (and got some in my hair in the process 🤪. Undersealed that hidden side.

 

This side I'll paint one more time.

 

Painted again. Inner arch cover refitted. Wheel back on.

And the uglier side

The inner arch cover is sticking out a bit. I might trim off the corner so it sits more flush and maybe a bead of sealant. There was a captive screw here once upon a time. I imagine two different metals of screw and panel helped the corrosion process along.

hah yeah mine went around that screw hole too 

There's threaded square plastic insert things with gaps that will hold onto salty road spray, but the screw and heads are not rusted to bits. 

 

A bit like this

 

I might switch to expanding rubber well nuts or nylon clips.

yeah i just replaced it with another plasticclip  like your pic , not great most of them have caused rust to start , but i doubt its what will finish the car off..guess they were too tight fit when new and chafed some paint off 

 

i fitted mine with a dollop of grease  

and on to next rust hole. Just an advisory. Rust offside rear. 

 

Found it at rear tow hook. Started pulling away the underseal and filler ... and found a plastic bag in the cavity as a bung for the filler.

 

The garage who repaired after the rear shunt left me a message.

"Age concern" - thanks Carey!

 

 

Wire wheeled and filed it as much as I could, then smothered it in Deox gel and 

cling-film. The tow loop carrier is not actually very strongly attached.  

 

This is going to be somewhat awkward to weld.

 

 

nasty looking job, still going with the arc welder?

I've only got an arc welder (with the Kelarc pistol) and some fatter rods for helping a mate with a car rotisserie.

 

Might be a bolt and/or self tappers through the boot floor job.

cant imagine welding bodywork with an arc....you should look out for a used mig when you have some spare funds

gas or gasless?

gas do nicest welds , the flux ones do some filthy looking welds ...although i think either would be a godsend to you 

 

often the budget end migs will swap to either..i guess gasless would be better outside on a windy day

Welding above your head is not going to be pleasant when there's any spatter,  so gas is tempting.

 

I found a convertor from MMA (Manual Metal Arc, not Mixed Martial Arts) to MIG made by Draper that can use optionally use gas, which I think I could connect to my arc welder. Though my arc welder does not have the plug style connectors. 

 

https://www.drapertools.com/product/00587/230V-MMA-to-Mig-Converter-(200A)

 

I reckon that pistol with wire spool would be annoyingly large in cramped space.

Surprisingly high list price.

Sure I've seen Gasless MIGs for less than £160 new.

 

how much is the adaptor?

 

clarke mig 90 is £200 , maybe less with their no vat /money off days they do sometimes , its what i use and while pros might laugh at it its more than capable of bodywork , had mine 13 years now , not much on a polo that needs more power 

 

or you see used ones for £120 ish   

 

edit no mines the pro 90 for £239

Edited 17 March, 20215 yr by steveo3002

£160 RRP! 

Found one for £140 delivered. Don't like the gun enough.

 

My arc welder (also a MachineMart VAT saver deal) could mend a battleship. 

 

Also wondering if I could convert to MIG myself. I found spares for Euro MIG gun and 4 meter lead and socket and wire spooling mechanism and gas connector for about £75. I've got a PWM controller I could use for the wire speed.

 

Nah, probably not enough space inside the case and I'd just break the arc welder...

Now looking at Static-ARC 140A gas and gasless for £180.

https://staticarcwelding.co.uk/products/mig-140a-igbt-inverter-dc-welder-2-in-1-mma-gas-gasless-wire-arc-welding-machine

If you have a MMA unit, you can buy TIG adapters that take the main power from the MMA unit 

12 hours ago, dvderlm said:

Now looking at Static-ARC 140A gas and gasless for £180.

https://staticarcwelding.co.uk/products/mig-140a-igbt-inverter-dc-welder-2-in-1-mma-gas-gasless-wire-arc-welding-machine

looks alright but is there any back up if it goes wrong ....at leaat the clarkes have a following and someone will sell you spares and tell you how to fix it 

Edited 18 March, 20215 yr by steveo3002

I’ve a Clarke 150 TE Turbo  gas mig welder which I’ve had for many a year and does a good job, provided you keep the tips/nozzle in good condition.Parts are still easily available through Clarke and fleabay too.It’ll weld just about anything.

 

I’m just about to embark on a overhaul of the torch as the swan neck that takes the tips is about shot, after it got some serious hammer doing my jacking points and the infamous offside rear inner arch and sill area(plus much much more!).

 

It’s next job could be some repairs to some Cricket sight screens!

 

 

Edited 18 March, 20215 yr by mk2tastic