using stainless steel for body repair question

[Chuck McB]

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. I have a bunch of 18 game stainless 304 that I would like to use on my project cars but is it a bad idea?

 

[rsanter]

Yes and no
It's harder to work with but depending on what you plan to do with it it should be fine.
One thing to think about is issues of diferential metal corrosion and that you are going to have to the welding as if both are stainless so minimize inducing corrosion at the weld immediately

Bob

 

[ng8264723]

http://www.mercurycougar.net/forums...1967-Cougar-project.-I-have-for-over-20-years

I used ss on my floors check out the link

 

[CARS]

There wont be any added corrosion issues. they are dissimilar metals, but not enough to create an issue. If you are welding it to mild steel, I wouldn't bother using SS wire. When you melt the two edges with the wire, it's going to blend the two. (I welded truck bodys for a few months and we build alot of stainless ones. One time a welder forgot to change out the wire for stainless... all the welds rusted.)

You should diffidently wear a respirator. Stainless is a nasty metal.

You can shape it in any way you want, it's just going to take more effort. Artists have been shaping stainless into almost any shape they can dream up.

 

[rlitman]

But you can't paint it, and unless you use special filler, the welds are much more likely to crack.

 

[Chuck McB]

Its starting to look like its not worth the trouble.

 

[CARS]

But you can't paint it, and unless you use special filler, the welds are much more likely to crack.

Please elaborate.

*sent from the welding dept. at AGCO, Jackson Mn campus where I am welding stainless dry hoppers to mild steel framework.*

This should be exciting reading for our engineers...

 

[theknurl]

Please elaborate.

*sent from the welding dept. at AGCO, Jackson Mn campus where I am welding stainless dry hoppers to mild steel framework.*

This should be exciting reading for our engineers...

+10

yes, I want to see the answer

 

[pepi]

But you can't paint it, and unless you use special filler, the welds are much more likely to crack.

The two best reasons not to, paint the big one, the steels will have a different flex and will crack.

Best option trade the 18 gage SS for 18 gage steel If the panels are flat and large enough I bet a metal source will make a deal.

 

[rlitman]

Please elaborate.

*sent from the welding dept. at AGCO, Jackson Mn campus where I am welding stainless dry hoppers to mild steel framework.*
...

Did you sleep through the second day of class when you were told about 309 alloy which was specifically designed as filler when welding 304 to mild to overcome the brittleness that comes from nickel dilution from using other fillers?

I didn't say it could not be done well. Just that if you use filler made to weld mild steel you can run into problems.

 

[CARS]

At work we use 308 to do all our stainless and 309 for joining it to mild. In the past I have welded brackets to stainless exhaust without any cracking, and as I said earlier, mistakes have been made and the wrong wire used with the only ill effect being the joints rusted. I doubt he is making a space shuttle out of his 18 ga SS. In fact with that gauge, the only thing I would do is floor pans and maybe rockers.

We paint stainless all the time, so I don't know where that comment originated. It just needs to be prepped with different products than steel or aluminum (which needs different products too). Never tried painting polished SS but I bet if you sanded the shine down it would stick.

Is it all worth the trouble? Not when I can get a 4x10 sheet of 19 ga DQ for under a $100.00. Save the SS for a different project.