Joint preparation is a more technical term used in the welding industry to describe how you prepare metal for welding.
How to prep metal sheet for welding.
Yes it may feel quite derogatory and downright frustrating for you to not able to do much faster.
Inherently mig welding steel does not need the metal to be perfectly clean.
On the other extreme tig welding aluminum requires contaminant free metal to create a strong clean weld.
And unfortunately many welders do very little if any joint preparation.
When it comes to welding thin sheet metal like car body panels if you are not experienced and skilled enough then you can easily create a mess as blow holes in the sheet and make the metal useless.
In order to weld sheet metal or patch panel you have to follow certain rules and use specific techniques.
To start the type of welding you are doing will determine how you prep the metal.
In this article we are taking a look at how people should go about welding sheet meta l what kind of wire and shielding gas need to be used along with some tips and tricks.
On the other hand in tig welding the metal parts are properly cleaned before they are welded.
If you are welding material that is 3 16 inch or less you don t have to do much prep.
In mig welding the metal sheets are not completely cleaned.
When you are new to the whole process of welding auto body sheet metals it is preferable to go a bit more slowly than you can handle.
Sheet metal welding techniques.
Here s a few tips on repairing rust holes in car body panels.
How to prep panels to achieve the perfect butt weld using eastwood s perfect panel prep tool.
Use a wire brush to remove thick impurities.
Also it will ensure that you don t get any warping of the materials you are working on and no burn through as well.
Once the metal is clean you can start with joint preparation.
See when you weld something you are usually welding two pieces of metal together to form a joint.
If you are welding thicker metal the edges of the joint should be beveled.
A good rule of thumb to remember when preparing a surface for welding is slower is often faster using slow speeds to control friction helps to reduce surface and weld area contamination.
Proper technique will come with practice and experience.
The following easy to follow tips will help prepare metals for either type of welding.