TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Dec 23, 2019 9:56 pm

Hi all,

I'm about to start a restoration project on my '67 Beetle. I bought a DC TIG/Stick (ARC) welder that will clearly be needed to complete the project. Pans and heater channels need to be replaced. I may also pick up a MIG welder if the TIG welding becomes too tedious. I have some experience with OXY-Acetylene welding but I am expecting the TIG welding will take some getting used to. I plan lots of practice time before I start to work the body.

My Bug has a serious dent just behind the right rear pop-out quarter window.

It looks like someone ran a cable or rope thru the rear quarter windows to pull the bug out of a ditch. This crushed the metal just behind the rear quarter windows.

So here is my question... I'm thinking the proper way to smooth out this dent is with a dent puller. I'd rather not buy a whole dent puller system with weld gun. Is it possible to use my stick/ARC welder to attach studs (the copper(?) type used for pulling out dents) to the body and then use a slide hammer to pull the metal back into shape? My TIG/Stick welder has dial control of the amperage and can go as low as 10A. Can I just clamp the stud between the jaws of the electrode holder and touch the stud to the body for a second and then OPEN the clamp of the electrode holder?
If not the copper studs, maybe attach steel screws or nails and then pull on them with the slide hammer? My slide hammer is the type meant for screws but a large head nail would also work.

My back up plan was to cut an opening from the inside of the car and gently hammer/dolly the exterior metal back into shape. This area on the inside will be covered by the headliner so any patches would be easy to hide. I'd have to be careful not to compromise the hinge attachment point for the pop-out windows.

The last option would be to find a donor car and cut this section out. Since this is a '67 it would need to be another '60s Beetle w/o the half-moon vents or even the impression of the vents behind the window. Donor cars from those years are a bit harder to find still in good shape.

Any suggestions on the best approach?

Wed Dec 25, 2019 10:47 pm

I drill holes. Then screw in a very tight fitting screw with a slide hammer nut already on it. Then I thread the slide hammer onto the nut being held by the screw shaft. When assembled, I hold the slide perpendicular to the surface and pointed in the direction I want the metal to pull in. Then slide the hammer. Sometimes one hit, sometimes 3 or 4. When done pulling the dent. I take my MIG and fill the hole.

EZ!

For a reference. Page 6 of my 54 build thread.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=100

Thu Jan 02, 2020 2:00 pm

for as much work as you're planning i think you'd be happier with a mig... 025 wire and a bottle of C 25 (75% argon 25% CO2)...the tig gives nice results (if you know what you're doing) but its like gas welding...its a VERY slow process and can potentially heat and warp the surrounding metal , where the mig is pull the trigger and instantly tack it, let it cool repeat....so you're not running a continuous bead that will warp thin metal...you're tacking it an inch or so apart, letting it cool, going back and adding the next tack etc etc etc till its all filled in...that area behind the window is stretched pretty bad and i dont know if you can get that fixed with a dent puller(try to pull it forward though to try to pull the crease behind it back forward)...a piece from a later bug with the vent will still be same shape,just use it from the vent hole forward and 2 straight cuts and you're done with a straight patch behind it rather than trying to reform that entire area so the window seals right....if you have to wind up with some bondo in the area behind it its not that terrible...the problem with a dent is that it also stretches and thins out the metal, so just because you hammer part of it back where it started out, the rest of it is longer than it used to be(if you use a dent puller or hammer it will pop out and now be higher than you want it...and then you hit it and it winds up back lower than you want it) and needs to be shrunk back to its original size(with a torch, shrinking hammer and dolly, shrinking disc on a grinder etc) and if you lack the skills to do this its easier to weld in a straight piece(unless you think a half inch of bondo is a good thing) when i bought my TIG 30 years ago i took a TIG welding course in a local community college to learn how to use it...and to this day my beads still dont look good but a properly adjusted mig is pretty idiot proof

Tue Jan 07, 2020 7:12 am

tig being 2 handed (and one footed) you will have an interesting time holding the stud. I have used a mig and nails in the past but a stud gun isn't That much $$ and worth it.

here is a photo using nails

Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:27 pm

FWIW I picked up the $100 stud welder and slide hammer kit from harbor freight and really like it. Added bonus is I was able to use it to shrink metal by heating the area with the studs and quenching it with a sponge.