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Welding [ Techniques: TIG vs. MIG ]

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ynotme2

Senior Member
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Everyone,

I question. I am thinking about doing some minor metal work on my car. I was wondering if anybody could tell me if MIG or TIG welding is the way to go. I have read the differences and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on which type of welder to purchase.

Thanks
 
Re: Welding

I have a TIG machine which I like very much. Also does stick. If you ever weld aluminum I find TIG easier. Overall though I think MIG might be an easier method for general welding once you get settings correct.


Make sure you have enough current at your workplace.

Bruce
 
Re: Welding

I Have a small, inexpensive MIG welder which started life as a wire welder - If you chose a wire welder it's worth it to add the shielding gas bottle -

Avoid fluxed wire and practice...practice....practice -

Mig'll do about anything you want , plug welds, stitch welds, etc and without warping the sheet metal -
HOWEVER - If your auto has aluminum panels the TIG is your only viable alternative ( Other than farming the job out) and becoming proficient at welding aluminum may take more time and practice than you may be willing to invest - It's really sort of an artform.

I salute all sod-eating Samas who can weld aluminum neatly ( Bit of jealousy there, eh what?)
 
Re: Welding

I have used MIG on my floors, sills and frame replacement sections. I have used TIG on my aluminum fuel tank and radiator overflow can and spot welded the inner and outer sills and lower rocker panels but if I were to be limited to just one I would go with a small (175 amp) Miller Mig gun with .028 wire and argon/CO2 mix for sheilding gas. It will work everywhere on the car except the aluminum panels. Just my 2 cents worth. Skip
 
Re: Welding

Be carefull if you do go the TIG route, some small TIG machines in the UK will not handle ali, check the spec with the supplier first, they say that you can weld coke cans with a good TIG machine.

Bob
 
You might also want to consider oxy acetylene... when your car was built originally, that's what they used. I have had good luck using both oxy and MIG, but for different applications (oxy when I need to use 'touch' and MIG for quick&dirty).
~Pablo
 
I agree with Pablo that gas welding was what they used almost exclusively up until just recently for fine sheetmetal work and it's still the best way to do "neat" or "fussy" work, but you really have to know what you're doing with sheetmetal or you'll be replacing a bunch on heat warped panels - As in: gas welding is an artform - I never mastered it although I can braze a bit -

All in all I think MIG is the easiest form to become proficient enough to do a halfway neat job fairly quickly - And (this can be a big point) with a MIG welder it's not possible for the torch flame to "Flashback" into the gas cylinders causing a unpleasant reaction indeed if you don't take real good care of the anti-backup valves on your gas torch set-up
 
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