On Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:16:22 -0400, "Wild_Bill"
wrote:

I believe you're going to find that it's very easy to blow holes in the work
when trying to butt weld sheetmetal. It can be done with a MIG welder,
although butt welds are more easily accomplished with (better suited to) the
TIG process.
A drawback to TIG is that it requires more skill which generally only comes
with lots of practice.

It's also a lot slower.

For the task of sheetmetal rust repair on a common used vehicle, there isn't
a better solution than MIG, IMO.

I agree.

Fore priceless, rare antique restorations, an experienced TIG welder may be
more desirable to make invisible repairs.

An inline sander isn't the best option for quick leveling, IMO, they're more
useful for sanding in later pre-finish steps. After using a Hutchins
straight-line sander for a while, I discovered that the orbital version
(with the same size pad) was better at cutting body filler.

Yup!

The straight-line models may work better with newer blends of body filler,
which I'm unaware of. I haven't tried any of the newer "lightweight"
formulas.

As with Mig wire, putting on body filler is easier than taking it off.
Getting used to just filling the low area first will save time and wasted
filler material. One can expand the coverage area with the final application
which will be the foundation for the primer coat.

The flanging tools suggested earlier should make you're patch work a lot
easier, as that method prepares the area for lap welds (much less likely to
blow holes), instead of butt joints.
The formation of a flange also acts as a structural reinforcement bend,
which can stabilize a panel area which may be prone to warping or popping
like an old oil can bottom.
There are also manual/plier versions of the flanging and punch tools.
A copper backup tool may be very easily placed in a stripped out body shell,
but access to the exterior surface only of a sheetmetal panel may exclude
the use of the copper backup.

Whut he said.

A purist restorer wouldn't think of using a punch 'n flange, but for
rust work they're the clear way to go. Strong joints, quickly made,
easy to get right. Good butt welds and good metal work can be done to
require no bondo while the punch 'n flange will always require a
little bondo or lead. But a chunk of bondo the size of a walnut is
enough to deal with replacement of an entire rear fender skirt on a
pickup.

Since I'm in widebandland for a few days I'll repost my BYBS page.
(That's BackYard Body Shop)...

Check out
http://members.goldengate.net/dforeman/BYBS/

The Blazer is shown five years after the last bodywork and paint was
done, just a bath to pretty her up for sale because I needed a pickup.
Sold it to the neighbor kid behind us, who loved it.

There was no original body metal below the trim line in that truck,
except for the tailgate. It had replacement door skins and a
replacement hood, rocker panels, quarter panels, etc etc. Paint was
Ditzler base-clear. It lived outdoors 24/7/365 and went where I drove
it, definitely not a garage queen.

Mary missed Ol' Blaze for years afterwards, even though it was a rough
noisy ride with no A/C. We had a lot of fun in that vehicle. Went
thru two engines and 3 trannies.