Let’s dive into the world of sticking metal together. If you’re passionate about cars, becoming familiar with welding isn’t just a possibility—it’s practically inevitable. Mastering welding for your car is a game-changer, offering a level of freedom in your hobby that’s truly empowering. It unlocks a whole new realm of possibilities where you’re no longer limited to off-the-shelf parts or relying on expensive and time-consuming professional services that might not even meet your exact needs.
If you’re like I was, welding might seem like a mysterious, industrial skill reserved for trade professionals. My journey started in a friend’s garage while he was helping me with a welding task. I confessed my desire to Learn Welding but felt clueless about where to begin. He simply handed me his helmet and MIG torch. The weld I made that day (shown above) was surprisingly decent, mostly because the welding machine was already preset correctly.
Since then, it’s been an ongoing learning experience filled with challenges and moments of frustration, but ultimately, it’s incredibly rewarding. There’s a unique sense of pride and satisfaction that comes from conquering the complexities of welding.
It’s hard to imagine learning this before the internet. Without online resources, you’d likely have to rely on formal classes or personal connections for guidance. I considered traditional welding classes, but they seemed to only cover the basics—enough to get an entry-level job. The internet allowed me to quickly surpass the basic curriculum and find answers to more specialized welding challenges, such as welding different metal thicknesses, dealing with very thin metals, working with stainless steel and titanium, and selecting the right machines and settings.
While online forums can be helpful for common questions, I found that they often lacked depth for more complex issues. You might get standard advice, but for anything beyond the basics, responses could be scarce or unreliable. However, there are true experts online. For me, Jody from Welding Tips & Tricks stands out as a welding guru. I’ve learned immensely from his videos, often revisiting them. I try to support him by purchasing supplies from his store whenever possible. His content has been more valuable to me than many university courses.
My goal is to inspire more car enthusiasts to discover the empowering world of welding. I plan to create a series of articles covering welding fundamentals, common welding processes, equipment reviews (machines, helmets, etc.), and advanced topics like filler rod selection and techniques for challenging welding situations. If this sounds helpful, please leave comments about specific topics you’d like me to cover, especially concerning equipment and techniques.
While I’m not a certified professional welder, as a dedicated hobbyist, I’ve tackled and successfully completed a wide range of welding projects. I’ve built gym equipment, car body panels, a custom aluminum intake manifold, stainless steel downpipes, titanium exhausts, radiators, roll cages, driveshafts, and more. I share this not to boast, but to encourage you to ask about any welding topic you’re interested in. I’m confident I can offer helpful insights and guidance.
I won’t get bogged down in overly technical jargon or formal definitions. The welding community can sometimes be overly critical of beginners with pedantic corrections. Yes, I know technically MIG is GMAW, TIG is GTAW, a welder is a machine, and a weldor is the operator. And frankly, for practical learning, these distinctions aren’t crucial. If you’re more concerned about turning someone into a machine by calling them a welder, you’re missing the point. Let’s move on to what matters: learning to weld effectively.
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF WELDING
Let’s quickly look at the basics. All welding methods essentially do the same thing: melt two pieces of metal so they fuse together. Electric welding achieves this by passing an electric current through the metal until it melts. Ever accidentally touched a wrench to a car battery terminal and noticed a melted spot? You’ve unintentionally performed a weld! There are even stories of resourceful truck drivers in Eastern Europe using battery cables and a coat hanger to repair broken leaf springs in emergencies.
Since those rudimentary methods, we’ve developed several more refined and efficient welding processes.
STICK WELDING (SMAW)
I’ll only briefly discuss stick welding for a couple of reasons. First, I have limited personal experience with it. Second, unless it’s the only option available, stick welding isn’t usually the best choice, especially for automotive work. It’s more suited for heavy-duty applications like welding large pipes outdoors. For cars, more advanced processes offer better control and results. One possible exception is welding thick metal in hard-to-reach areas, like deep inside a roll cage where even a MIG gun can’t fit. However, even in extremely tight spots, I’ve found that a TIG micro-torch can be more effective where stick welding is still too cumbersome.
Stick welding is the most basic form of electric arc welding. You use a consumable electrode “stick” held in a clamp, which conducts current. When this electrode touches the metal, it creates an arc and begins to melt, depositing filler material into the joint. With modern electrodes, stick welding can produce surprisingly strong welds. During WWII, American women welders were known for creating stick welds comparable to TIG welds in quality. However, despite its potential, stick welding is not generally a practical alternative to modern welding technologies, especially given how accessible and user-friendly processes like MIG welding are today.
MIG WELDING (GMAW)
MIG welding is the most popular starting point for most fabricators today. It’s similar to stick welding in principle, but instead of a fixed electrode, you use a welding gun that feeds a continuous wire of consumable metal. The key difference is the use of shielding gas. MIG welding uses a shielding gas that flows through the gun nozzle to protect the weld area from atmospheric contamination. Stick welding electrodes are coated with flux, similar to soldering flux, which provides its own shielding. When metal melts, it’s vulnerable to reacting with air, which can weaken the weld. Shielding gases in modern welding prevent these unwanted reactions.
MIG welders can also use flux-cored wire, which contains flux within the wire, eliminating the need for external shielding gas. However, similar to stick welding, flux-cored MIG welding is rarely the optimal choice for automotive applications, so I won’t elaborate on it here. It’s important to note that some very inexpensive machines that look like MIG welders are actually flux-core only and don’t support shielding gas. True MIG welding requires shielding gas capability. There is, however, an interesting and useful variation of flux-cored MIG welding which we can explore in a future article specifically about MIG processes.
Shielding gases are a fascinating topic. Typically, noble gases like Argon are used to ensure a clean weld. But shielding gases also significantly affect heat input. The most common MIG shielding gas is C25, a mixture of 75% Argon and 25% CO2. You can also use 100% CO2, which results in a weld with more spatter and a slightly less clean finish but provides significantly more heat to the weld puddle.
Speaking of chemical reactions, here’s a crucial safety tip:
NEVER USE BRAKE CLEANER TO PREPARE METAL FOR WELDING
Brake cleaner and other chlorinated degreasers, when heated by a welding arc, produce Phosgene gas. This extremely toxic gas was used as a nerve agent in WWI. Even small amounts can cause permanent damage, and slightly more can be fatal. Always use acetone for cleaning metal before welding.
Back to the exciting part! There are several compelling reasons why MIG welding is the go-to process for beginners: it’s user-friendly, affordable, and effective.
Many decent MIG machines are available from various manufacturers, including reputable brands that offer excellent entry-level welders. Lincoln Electric MIG PAK series are very popular starting points, and were for me as well!
I purchased my MIG PAK 180 almost new from local classifieds for a significantly reduced price. We’ll delve into the specifics of MIG machines and their features in a dedicated article.
These are my very first welds with this machine. Eager to start, I initially used flux-cored wire because I hadn’t yet set up a gas cylinder. The welds weren’t pretty, but everyone starts somewhere.
MIG welding is remarkably easy to operate, requiring minimal coordination, and it’s very forgiving of imperfect technique, making it the quickest welding process to learn. It’s also incredibly versatile. For a car hobbyist, a MIG welder could very well be the only welding machine you ever need. While there are better processes for specific tasks, unless you’re working with exotic materials like titanium or welding thin aluminum, MIG welding can handle almost any automotive fabrication or repair.
Above is my first real welding project: a welding table that I’ve used for countless projects since. (Apologies for the low-quality photo).
With practice, I progressed to more functional, if not perfectly aesthetic, projects, like reinforcing my car’s rear subframe with 1/8″ steel plates.
Someone jokingly asked if I was building a tank, so I decided to build a tank-like structure.
I acquired a spool gun to weld aluminum, thinking I could easily fabricate charge pipes. I soon discovered that welding aluminum MIG is more challenging than anticipated.
Eventually, I gained enough proficiency in MIG welding aluminum to create my tablet dash bracket.
