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Stripping shroud

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BlueRidge1

Jedi Warrior
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Been out this morning stripping the shroud (bn7) with paint stripper. Was any type filler used from the factory on the seams were it's welded together or is the filler I am encountering applied by Previous owner? Looks like fiberglass ! Thanks Bob
 
Mine had some on the 2 diagonal seams at the top. But having said that it also had 4 different color coats of paint. I had to use some Metal to Metal filler on the seams after I had stripped mine before I repainted it. Skip
 
Yes BlueRidge1, a leading {filler} shop was used to fill areas over the shroud's welds. However, the material was not FG.---Fwiw--Keoke
 
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Keoke how did they put lead over aluminum without getting a huge amount of distortion

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Hi Skip /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif. A "leading shop" is Brit speak for facilities that add fillers like our Bondo to body panels for car manufactures during that period. Brian Healey has repeatedly said they used those facilities too when building the Healey---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
Thanks, What's my options for smoothing this up after I take out the old filler and tap it with a body hammer and dolly to the best of my ability?
 
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Thanks, What's my options for smoothing this up after I take out the old filler and tap it with a body hammer and dolly to the best of my ability?

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1] If it does not need straightening leave it alone do not hammer on the weld seam. Light weight is an acceptable filler to use it is a member of the bondo family type fillers,There are others that may be used too.--Keoke
 
Thanks Keoke, Although I have about 35 years of body work experience I have a total of zero working with aluminum (probably can't even spell it correctly) There is also some nose damage were the badge bolts on ,looks like the engine wacked it on it's way out when po removed it. Also some stress cracks were it attaches on the bottem to the frame tabs. Can these be welded with a tourch and aluminum rod?
I had a local shop weld them but I am not pleased with the results, thought I may be able to do better myself.Kinda looks like a bird crapped on it. (cost $60 bucks).
Is the glue product for applying body panels an option for use on aluminum? Thought maybe I could double the panel were it bolts to the tabs on the frame. Thanks Bob
 
Blue Rddge I tig welded up an antenna hole in my shroud, I used a small round plug of 5052 aluminum and welded both sides and it welded great and flowed out really smooth. If your weld looks like bird droppings I would suspect the welder not the shroud.
 
There are some "bondo" type fillers that work well on aluminum. One is called "Redigrip" some of the others do not lend themselves to good feathering and have a tendency to "pick-up" when you get down to the nitty gritty. There are others that are designed to work on galvanize and they work well on aluminum also. Bob
 
Hi Bob,
If it looks like bird do-do, they probably tried to MIG it. Yes, the shroud can be welded with a torch. I’d use 4043 rod. You would want to use aluminum-welding flux and special lenses for your goggles. Here is a little something to read on setting up the torch (Metalshapers) , the tip selection and regulator pressures are different unless you have a Henrob torch. It blows my mind that the shop did such a poor job. Here’s a shot of a TIG weld I did. Below is my second time TIGing and my first attempt at welding 1/8” to 3/8”. Skip, you’d love this welder . 200 amp AC/DC TIG, with a shoulder strap!
177977-alumweld.jpg
 
On my Bj8 ..undamaged front shroud, there was not any non-aluminum substance on the shroud to speak of.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks Keoke, Although I have about 35 years of body work experience I have a total of zero working with aluminum (probably can't even spell it correctly) There is also some nose damage were the badge bolts on ,looks like the engine wacked it on it's way out when po removed it. Also some stress cracks were it attaches on the bottem to the frame tabs. Can these be welded with a tourch and aluminum rod?
I had a local shop weld them but I am not pleased with the results, thought I may be able to do better myself.Kinda looks like a bird crapped on it. (cost $60 bucks).
Is the glue product for applying body panels an option for use on aluminum? Thought maybe I could double the panel were it bolts to the tabs on the frame. Thanks Bob

[/ QUOTE ]

With that type background all you need to do is slow the hammer down.Yes you can weld the aluminum with a torch IMOP its the only way to go.The nasty part about aluminum that we do not see with the ferrous metals is that it becomes work hardened when it is being straightened.This requires that the areas be stressed relieved and as far as I know only a torch will do it.What you do is to lay down a heavy coat of soot with the torch then burn it all off if you are not sure you did it good enough do it again this requires different torch settings I think you realise.The modern metal adhesives surely should work. However, I have no experience with them. A little practice with the torch on aluminum should get you up and runing in a relative short time.A bit of reading up will help too.---Fwiw--Keoke
 
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