Welding 18 Gauge Sheet Metal

Mig welding is the preferred method for most automotive bodywork and since sheet metal is the thinnest of metals a large expensive mig unit is usually not required.

Welding 18 gauge sheet metal.

Say if you are welding an 18 gauge stainless steel sheet that is 2 2 feet in size to repair the side of your tank start by creating a weld that is 1inch long then skip 6 inches and then create a 1 inch long weld. So if you are welding 12 gauge mild steel with a thickness of 0 100 you would set the machine at 100 amps. Continue the same way along the sides of the piece of sheet metal. The majority of the sheet metal welding i ve done was with a 90 amp 110 volt welder.

A good heat setting for 1 8 6011 rods on thin material is about 80 90 amps. When welding mild steel a good rule of thumb is to set the amperage level at 1 amp for every 0 001 of thickness. A er70s 6 wire would be most ideal for welding mild steel. Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town.

Metal thickness amperage settings. Everyone is different but those settings will get you in the right ballpark to weld sheet metal. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. Most of the light gauge sheet metal work will require the use of 023 or 24 inch while if you have a sheet metal having a gauge of more than 18 gauge then a 030 inch wire would be the most ideal.

It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal.