The Best Welders for Auto Body Work

Would you like to restore a vintage car? How about improving the look of your own car? You may need a car body welding machine to achieve your repair and restoration goals. Since there are different types of welders, it is important to learn more about the applications and benefits of these types and to get a more concrete idea of which of these welders are better suited to your needs.

Buying guide

Before you decide on a MIG welder for body welding, it is important that you know exactly what you want. Let’s take a look at all the features you need in a MIG body welder:

Performance

Since most body welds are made on sheet metal, you do not need a high-performance welding machine. A 110 volt MIG welder can work perfectly for you. If you also want to use the MIG welder for DIY projects or heavier steel structures, we recommend that you look at a MIG welder that operates at 230 volts.

Thermal overload protection

A MIG welder is a long-term investment and you need to ensure that your welder has precautions built into the design. The duty cycle determines how long you can weld before you have to stop and let your welder cool down. The longer the duty cycle, the longer you can weld in one session.

Spool gun

If you want to weld aluminium, you need a coil gun. Welding aluminium can cause the flux-cored wire to jam in your torch. If you have a coil gun, you can keep the torch further away from the aluminium, which prevents it from jamming.

Welders for auto body repair

1. Hobart 500559 Handler 140 Wire Welder
2. Forney Easy Weld 261, 140 FC-i Welder
3. LOTOS TIG200 Welder
4. LONGEVITY Migweld 140 – 140 Amp Mig Welder
5. Hobart 500554 Handler 190 MIG Welder 230V

Best Welder for auto body

The choice of the right body welder is important if you are among those who like to carry out bodywork personally or professionally. The question is, with so many options out there, which ones do you buy? This article will definitely help you make that decision.

Here are our reviews of the 5 best welders for auto body work on the market.

Top rated welders for automotive

When selecting the right welder for the body shop, we have looked at versatility, price, performance and ratings to make the right list. In addition, after the reviews, we distinguish the two main types of categories these welders fall into. Therefore, apart from the competitions we go…

Each of the body welders has its own unique characteristics along with some advantages and disadvantages. Welding is a technical task that requires extreme safety precautions during execution.

In this article we will familiarize you with the basic understanding of the best bodywork welders with their safety needs.

Best welders for automotive

Here are our reviews of the 5 best body welders on the market.

1. Hobart 500559 Handler 140 Wire Welder

Buy Hobart 500559 Handler 140 Wire Welder

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If you are planning to work with different types of metals for your bodywork, this is the best choice for you. It can work on a variety of metals such as magnesium alloys, aluminum, copper, titanium, brass and cast iron.

There are really no bigger names when it comes to welder manufacturers than Hobart. They have been producing high quality welding products for years. This is a highly rated and versatile MIG welding machine in the mid-price range for portable welders.

It is powerful yet requires only 115V to operate, which means it can be used virtually anywhere there is a power outlet.

People were talking about how well his spooling system feeds the wire while you are working. It has a variety of metal types and sizes with which it can be welded. You can weld something as small as 24 gauge metal or as thick as ¼” mild steel. It also has adjustable output controls that allow you to weld at 20 to 140 amps, and it has a quick-change, double-groove spool roller…

Pros:

• just a few minutes for set-up and you are ready to weld
• this portable welding machine is easy to transport, so you can weld anytime, anywhere.

Contras:

• this welder has to rest 8 minutes (or more correctly cool down) for every 2 minutes of welding

2. Forney Easy Weld 261, 140 FC-i Welder

Buy Forney Easy Weld 261, 140 FC-i Welder

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This nice little machine gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to welding because it can do both MIG and TIG welding. This capability makes the expensive price a little more understandable, but the price for TIG welders is still on the low side (do not forget to buy the optional TIG welding kit if you want to use it).

Those who have tried this machine (see full specifications) rave about its versatility and the control you have over the machine settings on it. In addition to its versatility, it can be switched up to 120V.

Apart from the optional TIG welding system, it contains just about everything else you need to get started right in the box. In one easy step, this is one of the best welders for bodywork.

Big enough to handle 2 and 10-pound rolls of wire.

Pros:

• Includes – 8′ MIG gun, 8′ ground clamp, Integrated handle with torch wrap and a 20A-15A adapter.
• The quality, performance, and value of this machine will impress

Contras:

• The TIG torch and foot pedal are not included and available for separate purchase

3. LOTOS TIG200 Welder

Buy LOTOS TIG200 Welder

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This mid-priced machine is one of the cheapest TIG welding machines, but do not confuse it with poor performance. This is another dual drive machine that allows you to perform a variety of welding tasks.

Its handy weight of 58 pounds makes the product (see full specifications) portable enough to go anywhere you need to weld. It can even be DC powered, making it even more portable than most other welders. It has everything you need to get straight into the kit it comes in. This should be on the list of the best welders for bodywork.

Pros:

• better cutting quality and longer consumable life
• efficiently cuts through rough, painted, and rusty surfaces and produces minimal slag

Contras:

• foot petal cord is way too long
• it seems you need to turn machine off if you switch from tig to stick or from petal to no petal

4. LONGEVITY Migweld 140 – 140 Amp Mig Welder

Buy LONGEVITY Migweld 140 – 140 Amp Mig Welder

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If you are looking for a bargain when it comes to MIG welders, then this beautiful little machine with its durability should do the job well. It is always highly rated by those who bought and used it. This welder runs comfortably from 115V power and can weld up to 3/8″ thick mild steel.

The durability Migweld 140 has a high adjustability, which is integrated into its many different control settings, making this machine ideal for many different thicknesses of welding projects, especially for bodywork. It can easily be loaded with a 10-pound wire spool so you do not have to stop in the middle of a large welding project to reload it. This is undoubtedly one of the best MIG welders for the body.

Pros:

• operates on 110v standard outlet power. With power plug installed
• extremely portable, plug and use anywhere

Contras:

• will definitely work for small projects but that’s about it
• without gas is splutters a lot

5. Hobart 500554 Handler 190 MIG Welder 230V

Buy Hobart 500554 Handler 190 MIG Welder 230V

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The Hobart Handler 190 is a spool gun for welding aluminium. No additional control box or adapter is required to connect the SpoolRunner 100. A selector switch for operating MIG guns or spool guns allows quick and easy gun change.

Best mig welder for auto body work

Just a few minutes to set up and you are ready to weld. On the inside of the cover, you will find instructions on how to adjust the weld to set up your welder correctly. Use the Handler 190 to weld body panels, exhaust systems, mowers, trailer frames and couplings, tool carts, pistol/arch frames, lawn and garden equipment, metal sculptures, agricultural equipment, fences, and many other D-I-Y projects.

Pros:

• powerful and portable wire-feed flux core and MIG welder
• is extremely versatile and perfect for the welder who wants to work on auto body, household repairs, or even heavier farm projects requiring extra power

Contras:

• works only with 220 v

Best welder for automotive sheet metal

Tips on buying the best welder for body work

To make sure that you buy the right equipment, here are a few things that you need to consider in order to find the best welder:

1. Сheck the amperage.

The amperage plays a big role when it comes to how much current it can deliver. If you are working with thinner metals or metals up to 3/16th the thickness, you will need a current of at least 100 amperes and up to 130 amperes to get the best results. If you are working with thicker steel or steel materials up to 1.4 inches thick, you will need up to 180 amps to get good results.

2. Learn how to handle the heat transfer.

Normally, your power supply lowers the voltage input to 220V or even 120V, so it can generate a considerable amount of power. However, if you do, the device will generate more heat that can affect its circuitry. The device should have a way to displace this heat, otherwise the power supply could fail. However, you should look for a high duty cycle. The higher the rated power for the duty cycle, the longer you can operate your welder without leaving it at rest to avoid overheating.

3. Consider spending a little more money on more functions.

In the case of welding equipment, the more money you spend, the more functions you can get. These are the characteristics that can affect the performance, processability, and end result of the unit. This means that if you get a cheap welder, you will most likely get cheap and unsatisfactory results.

Auto body welders – Further considerations

Really, you really cannot do anything wrong when you buy one of the above machines to help you with your body welding requirements. The decision as to which is best for you will most likely be based on your budget constraints and how much you will use it. If you do not already know the difference, you should also know the difference between MIG and TIG welding in bodywork.

Auto body spot welder

Auto Body Welder: Difference between MIG Welding & TIG Welding

MIG (Metal Inert Gas) Welding

MIG welding is ideal for beginners. It is much easier to learn and do than TIG welding. The machines also run much cheaper than TIG welders do. One of the reasons they are so easy to use is that they continuously feed welding wire while you work, so there is no reloading of bars.

This is the most common method for welding body parts. Most machines will be able to weld all thicknesses of metal parts in the automotive industry. MIG is able to weld structural chassis repairs as well as thinner body panels.

They work well for typical metals found in cars such as light steel, stainless steel and aluminum. You can also make thicker metals with them, but it takes a little more practice to do it right.

TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) Welding

This procedure is becoming more and more popular. To be successful in TIG welding, however, a lot of skill is required. But with practice and endurance you can achieve good results with TIG.

TIG welders perform excellent work on metals with smaller thicknesses, making them ideal for use in car bodywork. The process is much slower with a TIG welder and they are more difficult to operate than a MIG welder is. However, the quality of the work produced is usually better than that of a MIG welder. This makes them great when you do such things as restoring old cars. There are also much fewer metal splashes when you work than with a MIG welder.

Best welder for car body repair

The process is slower because you occasionally have to insert metal rods into the welding tip. These definitely require a much finer welding technique and are much less forgiving than a MIG welder in use, but if you are experienced, you should do it.

Stick welding

Now stick welding is a little different. Instead of a wire being fed in and an electric current flowing to the vehicle creating an arc for welding, use a rod for stick welding, ha, fun!

But seriously, you have a rod called an electrode that produces the weld while you are bending the metal. Stick welding is strong and very good for thicker metals such as car chassis repairs. However, it is not possible to weld the body of the panels.

The electric current only blows holes in the thinner steel. Stick welding is really much more suitable for welding work in a trade that is larger than car bodies.

To summarize

Now we have found that we hope it has helped you to think about what type of machine you should choose. Just think about it…

MIG is the most popular and versatile method for body construction and has a medium level of qualification.

TIG is suitable for all car steel thicknesses but most difficult to master. It is a very unpleasant method that can be used in narrow or lower areas.

Stick welding is really only suitable for thicker fine steel. It cannot be used for regular bodywork.

Well, we hope you have followed all this and it has given you an insight into the different types of welding you can use on a home machine.

We hope that you have found the best welder for bodywork and, above all, that you are careful and safe. Good luck!

The Best Welders for Auto Body Work – Reviews 2019 Video