aluminum repair

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:22 am

there was a post awhile back that i cant find now. someone said something about fixing aluminum with a beer can. i preety dure it can be done. my question is do you have to tin the part first? like you would if you were soldering. i have a headlight door with a hole drilled in it. i want to fill the hole. i have a propane torch and a real bad door that i can practice on but i don't know how i should go about melting the can into the hole.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:50 pm

i used to know a guy who welded for NASA beforv he started his own shop and could weld aluminum beer cans together and you could not tell where after he painted them.
i would think that with a wire welder you could do it to trim pieces which are obviously thicker than beer cans.

averagef250 · Post by **averagef250** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:47 pm

All old ford aluminum trim is anodized. You have to strip the anodizing before you can weld it. Aluminum does not solder. If you are really, really, really, really good you can acetylene weld thin aluminum. If you are a good TIG welder you can TIG weld the hole up no problem. Aluminum wire feed welding is usually for high speed production stuff, not something I'd try with 16 gauge aluminum trim. After you weld it you will either have to hand polish the entire piece and polish it every week for the rest of your life or you can have it clear anodized again. After all this it will have been far easier to buy an NOS part off ebay.

You're a serious badass if you can weld 2 beer cans together.

kknip · Post by **kknip** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:52 pm

I have seen guys at the car shows welding holes they poked in aluminum beer cans with some kind of rod and a propane torch.The stuff looked like it would hold really good.Can't remember what it was called.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:30 pm

averagef250 wrote: You're a serious badass if you can weld 2 beer cans together.

he sure was.

foghorn · Post by **foghorn** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:48 am

Ace hardware sells a rod just for aluminum repair. I don't know the cost of it but i think its sold in one pound lots. It will melt at solder temps. Just make sure that you don't use a steel wire brush. Use a brass or stainless steel brush. Anything that a magnet can stick to is a no no on cleaning before using these type of products.
Here is a link to what i think is what your looking for.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/inde ... 9689654221

Foggy

averagef250 · Post by **averagef250** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 11:08 am

I've seen that stuff before. I found some in a shop I worked at. I tried using it and ended up throwing it away. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Prep is the key to welding aluminum. If it's ever touched oil be prepared for tons of cleaning before you can even think of welding. I have a special ultrasonic cleaning tank I use to clean aluminum parts before welding. For big stuff that won't fit I use castrol superclean and scotchbrite pads. They don't leave any residue behind. Stainless brushes work, but not quite as well.

Aluminum corrodes instantly in contact with oxygen. Aluminum corrosion is also known as aluminum oxide, If you've ever bought sandpaper, you know that aluminum oxide is some seriously tough stuff. Before welding you have to break down the layer of aluminum oxide the best you can before you can weld it. Sand and scrub the heck out of the area you will be welding.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:04 pm

oven cleaner works good too for removing the anodize.dont let the wife catch you stealing her can and her scotchbrite pads,get your own.

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:08 pm

i was thinking and i don't know why that i could just melt some into the hole and make it stick without having to remove the shine (coating). i am going to try it on the junk one to see what happens.

foghorn · Post by **foghorn** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:31 pm

fordman wrote:i was thinking and i don't know why that i could just melt some into the hole and make it stick without having to remove the shine (coating). i am going to try it on the junk one to see what happens.

IMO you will be just wasting your time and effort but ya never know ...

Foggy

ladz · Post by **ladz** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:17 pm

I still have some aluminum repair rods if needed works well !

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:50 pm

i'm going to end up buying new ones i think these are not repairable. i don't think. i dont want to reanodize them if i weld them.

foghorn · Post by **foghorn** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:19 pm

fordman wrote:i'm going to end up buying new ones i think these are not repairable. i don't think. i dont want to reanodize them if i weld them.

Why reanodize them polish them up like chrome. Might take a lil work but the end results will be awsum.

Foggy

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:12 pm

i am too lazy to keep them polished.

hardtailjohn · Post by **hardtailjohn** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:43 pm

If you coat them with evershield after you polish them, you wont have to mess with them again, and they'll outshine any of the anodized stuff. Check it out... www.aircraftfinishing.com (look for Evershield)
JH

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