1/4 install snafu

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Longgone

Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
Joined
Jul 12, 2005
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The weather`s been good so for the last few days I`ve been working the right rear 1/4 panel on the Dart. Everything went great , even welding that very thin panel to the thicker factory metal. The problem I ran into was, as I did the grinding on the welds to smooth everything out the panel went concave on me right at the weld seam. I tried to go easy and not create a lot of heat. Has anybody else had an incident like this while installing a 1/4 panel? I could just use body filler to fill it but it would be 1/4 - 3/8 in. thick in some places. I`ll try to post some close-up photos when I get the chance.

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Yes, I've had it happen to me too. Not much you can do about it. Try to beat it back out in those areas where you can get behind it. I doubt you would have much success with a stud gun.
C
 
I'm going to guess... HEAT! The grinding wheel heated up the panel and oil canned it.

Don't know the technique you used, but, make long sweeping passes, like 2-3 ft long. If you go short sweeps like under 1 foot, you'll concentrate too much heat in the ground area.
 
I don't know what kind of grinder you were or are using, but I have done this with minimal warping. I use the grinding disks for my 4 1/2 Dewalt that is the sand paper fanned disks. They work really fast and the fined pieces keeps the heat down lower than a hard composite disk. Using these and the long strokes that crackedback mentioned, should help lessen your problem.

Hope this is of some help.
 
I used a mig welder and kept the welds 3-4 inches apart on the lowest heat. The welding went good but I started having a problem when grinding. I used a hard 4.5 inch disk and ground an arms length at a time but with muscle. I guess I have overheated it and used too much pressure. I`m going to try to bang out what I can and go from there. I want to use as little body putty as possible but I`m certain I`ll have to skim coat the panel from the upper body line to the center one. These panels are quite thin and are very susceptible to warping and dents.
 
Bang it out the best you can, run masking tape under the lower body line and above the upper line and start filling. Its about all you cab do. Looks good though. Dont get discouraged.
 
Ok, if you used a MIG welder, it's gonna be hard to fix. Because, The MIG welding process leaves a stiff allmost non malleable, Joint. If you TIG Welded it your in luck, it leaves a "soft" weld. Just, Beat it into place.
Now, Either way, I would suggest heating the indented area with a torch (orange red) banging it out close n follow with minimal filler.

Hope this helps, Eric
 
You can shrink the metal back by applying heat with a torch (don't overdo it) and working it with a sopping wet rag. Don't know how much of the panel needs to be shrunk, but if you take your time and are careful, you can get most of it out. Work small areas at a time.
 
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