what would be the best welder to use for panel work. i have a whole lot of rust i need to cut out and reweld in my floors, rear quarters and above the drip rail along the roof of my wagon. i have an arc welder at home, just wondering if that is up to the job or maybe a mig or oxy is better used?? or does anyone have an idea how much it would cost for a professional to to it?

that sounds like alot of rust and some of those areas can be fiddley... as a panelbeater i would say dont expect much change out of 5 grand (without seeing it) if you want the job done properly. anyone could weld it in but you are paying for knowl;edge too. what the metals do when welded together, water catachment points etc... if you want to have a go go for it! you will be all the wiser for the experience. an arc is out of the question. mig is the way to go as oxy will produce too much heat and distord the metal.. anything bigger than a 130. i have a cig 130 fan cooled (is a must) at home and used to for 12 years and it still welds great.

hope this helps

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how much am i looking at for an appropriate welder?

i think these go new for around $700.. second hand would be ok if it has been looked after. there is one in my area for $250. i know this doensnt help but it gives you the idea. the problem arises after purchase cause gas companies now torture you for money. i have the smallestbottle available and i pay around $130 a year in rental then the $80 to fill it everytime.

yeah thats why i was hoping the arc would b ok.. no gas or bottle rental. how much welding can you get out of a small bottle?

Hi guys, all i want to say is give it a go and do it your self, then you know that you didnt pay 5 grand for a bog job. I bought a 150 amp mig off ebay to repair the rust in my coupe and it cost just over $500. Now im welding everything that needs to be done. Iv been going for 6 months and no where finished yet but it will pay off in the end and you will learn so much about the body along the way especially if you have on idea about panel beating like me.

i plan to do most of the stuff myself on this car..even tho i have no idea wat so ever on most of it. but im a quick learner so why not ey? whats the worst that could happen? i stuff up a car that was given to me..im willing to risk it

have a go mate! yo will be glad you did. take your time. you can get flux coated wire for a mig but it is not the best. surfaces need to be very clean other wise no penetration... if you set your reg properly (14 litres per min) then you will be surprised how far a little bottle goes. i am still on the same bottle for a year and i have repaired a front end on the r100 and bunch of other stuff and still have half a bottle

I don't know about the availability but in the US we can get a small TIG for around $225 at Harbor Freight. I have both a small home/hobbyist MIG and this small TIG. I am still learning the technique but common wisdom says that if you can get the "touch" that the TIG will produce cleaner/nicer welds. Of course we are also able to "rent" a bottle for lifetime for $80 and re-fills are about $20 so I have one of each argon/co2 mix and straight argon for the TIG.

Anyway, I agree, give it a try. If you got the car for nil and the welder for the prices that are being talked about for your area the worst that could happen is you learn to weld and have a welder for other projects to boot. And I would say to stay away from the flux core wire unless there is no other way. It makes acceptable welds, you just have to chip and wire wheel a lot of stuff off. Sort of like welding with the stick welder.

Its surprising what you can do with the flux cored wire but using a shielding gas is supposed to be the way to go for body work. Much cleaner welds it seems.