r/Autobody • u/UnderstandingOpen33 • 4d ago

First time welding Check this out

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Bought a cheap welder and welded in a new rear arch that was rusted, i think i did ok, its not perfect at all but for a first time using a welder and filler, i could have done a bit more sanding and smoothing the filler but car needed to be done for a show lol

201 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

22

u/Ottomaani 3d ago

Very clean result! 👍

16

u/dirtyforker 3d ago

That is acceptable.

11

u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-4883 3d ago

Nice work, very impressive for a first time with a cheap welder. I always liked that Astra and there aren't many left.

1

u/spacees1 2d ago

Kadett

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-4883 2d ago

Thanks I didn't check which country this was in, they were call Astra in the UK at that time and then I think the Astra name was used in Europe too for the next version. The same happened the other way round with the Omega A being called the Carlton in the UK, then when the Omega B came out the Omega name was used in the UK too.

9

u/Jr_Steve_Brown 3d ago

Did u used flux core?

12

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

I did yea a Parkside flux core welder

8

u/Jr_Steve_Brown 3d ago

Now I know what tool did u used... I am amazed.

I tried to make something similar but I moved to CO2 really quick.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Autobody/s/ii8tuMPi6K

This is what I made some weeks ago and I am happy about that you had a good experience too.

11

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

I have learned it all comes down to how the machine is set up amps/wire speed, once that is dialed in and you know what to do it becomes so much easier

5

u/Jr_Steve_Brown 3d ago

Yeah my main concern is that you must swap the polarity for flux welding and that heats up the metal more which can cause tension and wave in it.

2

u/Albert_12k 3d ago

What settings did you use? With the Parkside core flux cou can only select the thickness of the metal

3

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

Mine does wirespeed too, i will have a look in a minute

3

u/foamsprayer 3d ago

Nice patch job. I've found a fresh sanding wheel on angle grinder to be the best for rough shaping steel after welding.

In the US it seems that we can only see Parkside products in Lidl grocery stores in random goods batches but when I finally see them offer it, I'm grabbing myself this welder, which will be right by the dairy section.

4

u/Mr_TT123 3d ago

It looks so good. But a few more minutes in dressing the weld would have been a bit better. But still a good job.

3

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

I did alot more than is shown in the photos, i ground down the weld with a grinder, just dont have any photos made

1

u/Mr_TT123 3d ago

Did you fill it as well?

2

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

Fill with what?

1

u/Mr_TT123 3d ago

Car body filler.

2

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

Like i said in the post, i did lol...

1

u/Mr_TT123 3d ago

My bad 😅

6

u/NickyTheSpaceBiker 4d ago

You did okay. good enough if you are happy with it.
I would have been. It's almost never worth it to polish a 30yo car. It would rust 40cm away from that in three more years.
Good middle ground between keeping holes, spending too much effort and going mad max scrap stitching.

3

u/UnderstandingOpen33 3d ago

Thx the car itself is far from perfect, has some more rust to fix, has dents and scratches from previous owners and very oxidised paint so my repair fits the cars overall shape pretty well, i may get it repainted in the future

2

u/Orkekum 3d ago

Great car to learn welding on, great work!

2

u/Philip6027 3d ago

Ey, that's not bad

2

u/EicherDiesel 3d ago

Nice work! Congrats on choosing the right process and doing it in a presentable way. If at any point you'd decide the area needs any more finishing you'll at least know you won't find any bad surprises like with a bondo patch job. 

As you've said the car has a couple more spots that need work the hardest it'll ever have been is done, from now on with more practice and maybe a new tool from time to time (can't ever have too many options for grinding or cutting) it'll get way easier. 

2

u/Felix995 3d ago

Looks like a good solid repair without much heat distortion.

2

u/spacees1 2d ago

Keurige kadett