18
Just came around on using a stud welder for aluminum panels
I always swore by glue-on tabs for aluminum work, swore nothing would change my mind. But my buddy Tony over at Precision Collision in Denver showed me his setup last weekend and demoed how fast he pulled a dent on a F-150 door. The trick is dialing the heat way down and using a copper backing plate to keep from burning through. Has anyone else had luck switching methods for aluminum?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
knight.felix24d ago
Tony's definitely onto something with that copper backing plate setup. I switched to a similar method about a year ago after burning through a couple of hoods (learned that lesson the hard way). The really thin aluminum panels from the newer F-150s are way more sensitive to heat than the older 5-series stuff they used in the early 2010s. You gotta watch your dwell time super close too, even with the heat dialed back. I actually had better luck with the 110v setup for most panel work since you get a slower, more controlled weld cycle. Those big 220v stud welders can be too aggressive on thin aluminum, even with the copper plate behind it.
10
the_mary24d ago
Tony is right about the copper backing plate. I started using one a few years back and it made all the difference for keeping the heat where it needs to be. The other thing that helped me was switching to a stud welder with a smaller tip diameter. The big ones just pull too much heat into the panel and you end up with distortion around every weld. Have you noticed a difference between that F-150 aluminum and the older stuff they used on the earlier trucks?
3