Early Days....Gaining Restoration Skills - MotorRetro

[Oldman]

First up, I don't intend to get my bus to concourse standard. (...or even close !)
My intentions, as I start this journey, are to gain enough practical skills - Welding/Panel/Paint - to enable me to get rid of the rust that has started to show its presence....
I'll post pics. as I go with the repairs but need to start with my learning Journey. 

On the old Forum, a number of people posted after completing a light vehicle repair course at St. Leonards TAFE.
It was a basic panel beating course run by a couple of very passionate Teachers and from all reports, it was a brilliant thing to do.
The two Teachers have since left TAFE and started their own business,

MotorRetro: https://www.motorretro.com.au

(Worth having a look around their website to see what they offer....)

I took my bus out there late last year to get their opinions on process and whether or not they felt the work was within my capabilities.
I have many years experience with Carpentry / Construction tools but very little metal fabrication experience.
Their response....?
" What have you got to lose ....? " 
With the escalating costs of Professional ( proper ) panel and paint work, I thought I might as well learn to do it myself......and what a great decision that has been !

I initially purchased a Block of 24hrs for $745.00 (....works out to be about $31/hr......) and went out there for my first hands-on experience.
To say I was blown away by their Workshop facilities, equipment, Teaching skills etc. is an understatement.
Georgio & Vaughan are more than panelbeaters.....they are Coachbuilders. 
There is no body filler onsite....anything that requires filling is lead-wiped. Any shaped panel can be replicated onsite using a multitude of equipment both manual and machine.
MotorRetro offer restoration services during the week and classes on Tuesday nights and Saturdays....

Moving on.......
My first session was an introduction to MIG welding and panel forming......straight into it !!
I took my CIG Weldkill 185 Inverter MIG/ DC Lift TIG/ Stick welder out with me and they helped me dial it in for all the types of work I'd be doing.
Having their experience over my shoulder as I went was great...no classroom theory, just hands on learning...

   
We started with MIG Tacking....I learned very quickly that a weld may look good on the outside but without proper penetration, it was useless....
All looked good on the surface......

   
But the underside showed where the penetration wasn't up to scratch....

[Oldman]

From tacking we moved on to running beads and then joining gapped panels

   

Looks sort of ok for a rookie !!

   

Once again, penetration is the key and you can see here that it wasn't really good enough....no overlap in the centre....

After a while, we moved on to Fillet welding panel material. I learned how to setup and use both manual and hydraulic folders to create the sample to weld.

   

Here, a 90 degree fold is sitting on top of a flat section......and then Fillet welded together.

   

Starting to really get the feel for duration and setting with the MIG setup.....penetration is much more consistent !

[Oldman]

next up....Plug welding....

I punched a few holes in one sheet , laid it over another and then welded through the holes...

   

Once again....looks ok but penetration comes back to haunt me:

   

Here, you can see the penetration getting better as I slowed down a bit.....not great...but getting there. Every different type of weld has its own set of challenges.

All up, pretty happy with my progress from a very average, self-taught punter to a punter with a better understanding of what to look for.
My main learning outcomes ? Listen to the weld as you go...if it doesn't sound right....it isn't right and something needs to change...
Aside from operator error, gas flow, wire speed, burn back, voltage are some of the basic settings that have to be correct if the weld is to be good.

Next up, an intro into panel forming......
The task, a Hubcap with a formed edge, predetermined diameter and crown height.

   

This task gave me experience with the English Wheel, Blocking, Planishing and Tinsman hammers, sand bags, a range of dollies, tinsnips and pedestal mounted shears, profile gauges and radius templates....oh and an edge forming tool !

   

[Oldman]

Next panel forming exercise was an irregular shape that introduced cold stretching and cold shrinking....a LOT of planishing hammer work !!
It's crazy how much influence working on one face of a corner has on the opposite side of the panel.....and why this task was great as a learning process.

   

Each leg has a different dimension upturn and I had to keep the corner radius at 1.5 mm....constantly check with a radius gauge. These fellas have eagle Eyes !!

   

Long and short curves were checked against a Template for accuracy.....and the bottom face had to be F L A T !!
This is where all the Plannishing hammer work came in.....cold stretching and shrinking allows you to control the surfaces while working the metal to the planned shape.
(something that doesn't happen when you just fold/bend metal.....)

Next up was TIG Welding.....and I was really looking forward to that !

[Barry]

Fantastic!

I’m going to have to look into this course

[Oldman]

This was where the really valuable experience of these guys helped me understand the benefits of different welding processes.
All up, I would use MIG, TIG and Oxy. to join panels without and with filler rod.
(Oxy !!, yeah...who uses Oxy. on panel work ? .........this one really blew me away......to follow...)

Onto the TIG....
What I learned first up was the difference between the result of MIG vs TIG and it is worth highlighting I think....

The MIG welding process hardens the metal you are working on and with.....TIG does not .
This means that a MIG weld is more likely to fail/crack when subject to vibration - think moving vehicle - than TIG, that retains the same strength and characteristics of the base metal.
A MIG weld will also chew through flapper discs at a great rate as hardened steel is being ground down.....
A MIG weld is extremely hard to shape .....a TIG weld is not...think making a complex panel section that requires rolling/shaping before fixing to the vehicle.

I've often heard that,
"....the difference between a good (MIG) weld and a bad one is 10 minutes of grinding...."
Man, have I seen that myth blown out of the water and into the Stratosphere !!
Imagine a MIG weld without proper penetration, ground back, bogged over and painted......it's bound to fail, crack, let water in and rust all over again.

With TIG, I can work the welded sections exactly as if they are one piece of metal....it can be planished, rolled, cold stretched and shrunk without failing.
(Assuming the penetration is there....)

So, first runs with the TIG....2.4mm Tungsten, 1.0 mm sheet, just getting used to the arc.

   

No good !! No weld pool or penetration .....had to start somewhere !!

   

Slowly getting better.....but what about penetration ?

   

Yeah,..........Nah !! Gotta work on that......and practice I did.

   

Looking ok on top...penetration ?

   

Pretty happy with that.
All these joins are without filler....just metal to metal joined by TIG arc.
Next was to introduce a filler rod......

[Oldman]

First up, running beads with a filler....another skill....now I have to use two hands, control the arc with penetration, not blowing holes AND introduce filler while keeping a constant bead.
Phew !!

   

Once again.....loking pretty good on top.....penetration ?

   

Arrrrrggggghhhhh.....frustrating !
I did get there eventually.......and I now understand why many default to MIG...it's just so easy by comparison !

Next up....introduce a gap between panels and use filler.
This was next level hard and I vowed at this point to fit my repair sections without gaps and TIG metal to metal and avoid the pain !!

   

Some sections were ok...but holy moly was my hand wandering all over the place !
Note to self, if TIG-ing today don't drink as much coffee !!
A mate of mine says he puts on mellow music and just gets into the zone......now I know why  

   

Once again, the Penetration Gods were against me....and while part of this weld looks ok, you can see where I wandered onto one side only.....

[Oldman]

Lastly....Oxy Welding panels...
I really wanted to get my TIG filler better and the fellas would've let me keep going if I wanted but a session in Oxy welding was next....
For this, Greg - a semi retired CoachBuilder that specialises in restoring MGA's was my guide...
I learned how to set up the torch, adjust the individual gas flow to get Neutral, Carburizing and Oxidising flames.....each has a specific purpose.

Using the Oxy straight, to weld panel steel together is brilliant !! There is infinite control of the weld pool unlike MIG or TIG.
I learned to tack and run beads, joining two pieces together.
The beauty of Oxy is that you can see, right there in front of you, how the metal is reacting to the heat of the weld as you go.
MIG & TIG is instant....one zap and it set. Oxy allows you to "pull" the metal together without buckling the panels.........if it's done correctly of course !!

   

Face side of Oxy weld. I tacked every 25 mm or so and then went back and welded through, tack to tack....

   

and look at the penetration !! 
Probably my best result yet.......
I am now aware that there are limitations with all types of welding and it's a matter of select the type best suited for the purpose.

I'll be saving the MIG for any structural work and TIG-ing my panels when I jump into the kombi.....not long now 

I've started rolling a roof section that will be folded to sit in a dimensioned frame. This was all English Wheel work to roll and match a specific radius - 150 mm.
The final rolling is dye washed to show up any low/flat spots that need closer attention.
Once I have completed the rolling and folding task, the boys will belt it with a ball pein hammer to replicate hail damage, belt a crease into it, gouge a slot in it and cut a corner off.
Bastards !!
My task is to then repair the sample as close to original as I can.

Once they are satisfied with my level of ability, I can then work on my bus with them in the background with advice, equipment and moral support..
BRING IT ON !!

[Oldman]

Fantastic!

I’m going to have to look into this course

Barry, you would not be disappointed......
I still have a number of hours left  before I buy another block of 24 to use on the bus.

For $745, the hands on experience I've gained is worth more than any amount of reading I have/could have done.
The beauty of this place is , they teach you what you want to learn and give you underpinning skills that get you there.....

[Grantus]

What an excellent, well presented, interesting read…..and awesome that you are gaining new skills!

Thanks heaps for sharing, (and the concise pics), and I look forward to following the attack on the Kombi rust, in due course.