I need to know about mig welders I want to do some auto body repair and need to find out what I need?

4 Comments

1. 

   eddieibalz

   5:37 pm on January 18, 2010

   ask the advice of a good body shop get some Professional input
2. 

   Larry

   5:55 pm on January 18, 2010

   Seriously save your money. If you need to ask this you do not need to be welding, the welds will be poorly done and you will get somebody hurt eventually.
3. 

   ky509

   6:44 pm on January 18, 2010

   Actually you can now buy some fairly good migs at reasonable prices for the home hobbyist. I prefer a mig that uses gas. However they do make a wire welder that does not need the gas but I have heard they are not as smooth as far as laying down a nice weld. They have something inside of the wire that takes the place of the argon. I bought a used Miller that came out of a factory. It runs on 220v and is as smooth as can be. I have had it for almost 20 years now and it has been Absolutely trouble free. The welds are as nice as you can lay down. I started off a little like you, no experience and not really knowing if I even wanted to get that deep into welding. Since then I have not only built several car, I have also built a couple trailers and done a lot of repairs for friends and neighbors.So if you can buy a used Miller I wouldn’t`t run from it if it`s reasonably priced. Hobart also makes good welders. One thing to keep in mind, a cheap mig does not make very nice welds in most cases. I have seen a couple of the 110v migs and in my opinion they are not worth the money you have to pay for them.

   If you happen to run across a good used snap-on welder, they are not to bad. They are no where near as smooth as my miller but they will do the job on car sheet metal. The snap-on welders use to be mfg`ed by Century. Check with your local snap-on man he just may have a good used one. With the economy like it is I would say there are gobs of um out there for sale that have been repoed. Also get your self a really good welding hood. Flash burns are no fun at all

   Good luck
4. 

   apoorapothecary

   6:52 pm on January 18, 2010

   I have a decent Lincoln Electric unit that runs 110V (however, a dedicated 20A breaker and outlet is needed). It takes FCAW wire, plus has the adapter to run shield gas. It’ll take on most everything short of frame mods, and even then, if you don’t mind taking small breaks, since the duty cycle is small. Body panels are a cinch.

   If you’re looking to do a lot of welding, save up your money, though, and get a solid Miller 220V setup, and call an electrician in to get your outlet wired.

   I’d suggest you stick with electric, but a good oxyacetyline torch for cutting and shaping would be another good purchase alongside that.