Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Aluminum Bodywork Repair
Historically, aluminum used in vehicle bodies has been around a long time. The hood of the Model T Ford was made of aluminum and 1930s vehicles also had aluminum parts. The main advantage to using aluminum instead of steel is the significantly lighter weight.
Difficulties
Repairing auto bodies with aluminum can be difficult, since oxygen contamination can ruin the process. Modern welding methods have made this problem easier to handle. Its best not to use serrated hammers during the body work, since the soft nature of aluminum could result in gouging.
TIG Welding
TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding emerged in 1950. Its considered the best type of welding for aluminum body work. TIG has superior weld arc control and doesnt produce sparks or messy spatter when the surface is clean. Without contaminants on the metal, there are no harmful fumes, either.
Techniques
A tricky thing about aluminum is it does not show color changes when heated to the melting point like steel does, so care must be taken to learn how to recognize this point. Cleanliness of the metal is important, since residue can contain oxygen and hydrogen that will result in poor welds.
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