What gauge, thickness steel do you use for repairs (1 Viewer)

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Jan 14, 2007
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Location
Stafford - UK
First off it has been a looooong time since I did car body work. I am gearing up to do some will be using mig perhaps have a crack at tig for fun.

What thickness steel do you use for repairs on the body, rear quarters, fenders, (tray back) on the 40 series.

I favor 1mm (18ga) or 1.2mm (between 17 and 16ga?) and can get the material easily but I notice some people are selling 0.9mm (19ga).

My thinking is that is too thin and will distort more with welding - anyone used it or got advise?
 
I have mostly used 16 ga on my Pig and I experimented w/ 20 ga in a spot to see what happened. The 20 ga was much easier to bend but is too thin for my liking. My Pig is a trail truck so I went with the 16 ga for durability.
 
I getting ready to order some patch steel and I think after doing lots of measuring I'm going with 18 ga. I'll ask the steel supply guy to mic it first - and try to get as close to what what I'm cutting out as I can.

Lots of people say 16 ga - but it seems to me that the quality of the repair will have more of an effect down the road (corrosion wise) than additional thickness in the steel, and I don't have any practical experience, but it seems like it will weld better if it's close to the same thickness.
 
That reasures me a little, thanks.

I had a measure on some of the steel work near the area I have to repair and think I will go with [STRIKE]16ga[/STRIKE] 18ga for parts like the curve on the back of the cab and the tray sides, but will get some [STRIKE]18ga[/STRIKE] 16ga for a few of the heavier part of the tray and any floor parts I have to patch.
 
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18 gauge is what your Cruiser has stick with it.
keep your welds to small stitch welds don't start with corners for your first stitch , place the weld on either side of the corners of the peice you are welding in.
Don't work in one area move your stiches around so the area can cool without over heating one area.
To much heat in one area will cause distortion and do not try to run long beads or you will burn a hole.
You need a hammer and a dolly to hammer the metal as the metal cools while you work your welds in, this helps reduce deforming of the metal.
Be patient big pieces take along time to button up,you will have some deformation of the metal which you can skim coat with body filler (AKA BONDO).
 
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you got it backwards. 16g is thicker than 18

Check this link Sheet Metal Gauge Size - Engineers Edge
it never fails to keep me straight.

Good Luck with panel beating

Sorry, typo, I do know the scale but always have to refer to a chart for the actual thickness for a gauge, particularly because I work in metric. When I think about it I am actually thinking 0.9mm, 1mm and 1.2mm, can't go wrong with that!

I remember gauge order by 16 bore being smaller than 12 bore from shooting.

Thanks, I will post some photos when I get started for some MUD feedback, can't beat the experience here.
 
18 gauge is what your Cruiser has stick with it.
keep your welds to small stitch welds don't start with corners for your first stitch , place the weld on either side of the corners of the peice you are welding in.
Don't work in one area move your stiches around so the area can cool without over heating one area.
To much heat in one area will cause distortion and do not try to run long beads or you will burn a hole.
You need a hammer and a dolly to hammer the metal as the metal cools while you work your welds in, this helps reduce deforming of the metal.
Be patient big pieces take along time to button up,you will have some deformation of the metal which you can skim coat with body filler (AKA BONDO).

times 2
 
i see some body shops throwing out large roof panels and hoods etc. can that be used for repairs if it the same thickness?
 
Probably is thicker it is only reasonable that the bed which takes lots of abuse would be constructed of a heavier gauge.
 
18 gauge is what your Cruiser has stick with it.
keep your welds to small stitch welds don't start with corners for your first stitch , place the weld on either side of the corners of the peice you are welding in.
Don't work in one area move your stiches around so the area can cool without over heating one area.
To much heat in one area will cause distortion and do not try to run long beads or you will burn a hole.
You need a hammer and a dolly to hammer the metal as the metal cools while you work your welds in, this helps reduce deforming of the metal.
Be patient big pieces take along time to button up,you will have some deformation of the metal which you can skim coat with body filler (AKA BONDO).
@Dieseler I've got an 87 60, and a rear passenger door skin and left quarter to cut/repair. I've worked with 18g many times, but have not measured the thickness of the 60's steel. From the sounds of it, you've done some repair on your rigs, are you sure that 18g steel is the closest fit for a 60/62?
 
Take one of these and check. You're likely to find some different thicknesses in different areas.

index.jpg
 
First, clean with 90% alcohol. Scratch coat first. Three coats, minimum of 1 hour between them. Leave out in the warm sun to help. A close friend of mine told me that technique of painting at home. He said he used a heat gun on the lowest setting and heat to under 150. Then leave it alone. The biggest thing people don’t understand is the difference between paint being dry and paint being cured. Dry paint you can scratch off with your nail cured paint, not at all. Paint takes time to harden and drying is just the first step for it.
 

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