Anyone here have a stud welder?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anyone here have a stud welder?

Posted: 9/30/2012 7:37:21 PM EDT

I've got a dent on my drivers door of my 71 challenger. It is right on the crash bar. It is the only dent on my car so I really don't want to buy one. I was hoping someone would rent it to me.

Posted: 9/30/2012 8:00:42 PM EDT

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PO_3pKXYMk[/youtube]

When seeing this topic my first thought was WTF could possibly be an automotive application for stud welding?

See video

Posted: 9/30/2012 8:24:31 PM EDT

Take a pic of it and post it for me.

Posted: 9/30/2012 8:33:45 PM EDT

Quoted:
Take a pic of it and post it for me.

Its in/under the red area under the door handle. The crash bar is directly behind it.

Posted: 9/30/2012 9:27:35 PM EDT

I can't see damage very well.

Build your own. Take 2" wide metal strips and tack them to the damage area. Then pull the dent out. You can use a vice grip adapter to slide hammer to do this.

It could easily run $50-100 bucks for shipping both ways to borrow a stud gun. Your about 1/3rd the way of buying one at that point.

Or take it to a local shop and pay them to pull it for you. If they just pull it, no finish work, it might not run that much.

Is the crash bar bent? If it is, that's major. You may think about replacing the door if so.

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Posted: 9/30/2012 9:41:56 PM EDT

Quoted:
I can't see damage very well.

Build your own. Take 2" wide metal strips and tack them to the damage area. Then pull the dent out. You can use a vice grip adapter to slide hammer to do this.

It could easily run $50-100 bucks for shipping both ways to borrow a stud gun. Your about 1/3rd the way of buying one at that point.

Or take it to a local shop and pay them to pull it for you. If they just pull it, no finish work, it might not run that much.

Is the crash bar bent? If it is, that's major. You may think about replacing the door if so.

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I paid $100 for the door and it came with everything. A brand new door skin (what you weld to the frame) is like $350. So if I have to I will plasma out the crash bar section and weld something else in there. I'll probably do it myself since I hate paying people to do anything for me.

Posted: 10/1/2012 4:15:15 AM EDT

Harbor Freight has a stud welder kit with the gun, studs, and slide hammer for about $100

http://www.harborfreight.com/stud-welder-dent-repair-kit-98357.html

Posted: 10/1/2012 9:46:41 AM EDT

Thats not a bad deal. I've got a mig and a slidehammer, but my worry is that my mig even on the lowest heat setting would burn through. I'd assume a spot gun can get lower temps?

Posted: 10/1/2012 12:20:10 PM EDT

A stud gun has only 1 setting. When you press the trigger it turns on for about half a second to weld the stud to the metal.

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Posted: 10/6/2012 7:56:20 PM EDT

Got the dent pulled pulled and a pretty good body line, which I didn't think I was going to get. Door is blasted and found a few pinholes that I will weld and grind. Previous owner bondoed over them it appears. Overall a rust free solid door. Will require a bit of bondo, but nothing major.

Posted: 10/6/2012 8:14:20 PM EDT

Did you buy the HF stud gun?

If you don't know, they have a skim coat for finishing over bondo before you prime.

Posted: 10/6/2012 10:24:48 PM EDT

Quoted:
Did you buy the HF stud gun?

If you don't know, they have a skim coat for finishing over bondo before you prime.

No we actually had a slide hammer that was modified to pull bearings. It had a flat foot which we tack welded to the door about every 2 inches and pulled the dent out with a bit of heat. I do plan on using skin coat over bondo, before I block it out.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anyone here have a stud welder?

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