Arc Welding Body Panels, How?
 

Need advice, never done this before..

Area of concern is the left rear jack point. Somewhere in her poor life something smashed it pretty good and the two pieces of metal are separated and bent. I want to line them back up and then weld them (I have a small arc welder).

I think lining the pieces up, cleaning them, painting the inside (to prevent future rust), cleaning where I want to weld, welding them then painting them will do the trick. I think welding upside down will be a bitch, but flipping the car over is not an option.

What I am really concerned with is any damage to the electrical system. My guess is that disconnecting the ground from the battery will keep everything safe, but frankly I have no idea. My plan is to clip the electrode right next to where I am welding.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Disconnect the battery and that will be OK....no sense painting anything before you weld it though..it will burn off anything within an inch or so at least :)

just make sure you research the metal, use correct electrode and dont abuse the amps or the puddle will drip right on ya

disconnect any and all ECUs completely from their wiring harness connectors

those points get bent up pretty bad for me (probably jack the car up completely two wheels off the ground as high as possible 50+ times a year). You should be able to take some manly type pliers and bend them back to almost like new, maybe some light hammering too. I have never seen the need to weld there.

Thanks for the ecu tip

Somewhere along the way the 2 pieces separated. It looks like the welds were popped. No idea what happened.

they are only spot welded together at incremented intervals

Arc welding body panels? Don't you mean MIG weld? I wouldn't think you could control a stick well enough to make a good weld. Also, the heat from an arc weld would warp the panels.