I must say this is a very helpfull forum...
thx guys....

Russ thats well good! Wish i could do it that nice.

I'll never dispute your skills as a welder. Would like to see the same welding on 0.8 mm body panels. Gasless or not, the risk of burning holes are big. Yes gasless would look shit house nevertheless still hold very well.

I'm not showing off Peter, that's not good welding, that's just 'welding'. My point is you'll never achieve the same with gasless. A novice can pick this up and give himself confidence by being good straight away, with flux cored crap it destroys confidence because it'll never ever be any good.

That's a 2cv suspension arm, btw, so not thick at all. I still don't believe you'll get a gasless weld to look like that regardless of skill.

They shouldn't do if it is welded right in the first place. Good welding saves a lot of time. This is the corner of an AZU body side rail. It needs no sealer and shouldn't really need any significant filler either. I reckon a decent welder will pay for itself in no time in reduced labour. This isn't because I'm particularly good. There are lots of welders far more skilled than me. I've just used the right tool for the job.

0.6mm butt welded to 0.8


those welds are using Argoshield light (argon-co2-o2 mix)

these were co2 less fusion but less chance of melt trough the weld sits on top of the metal more doesnt seem to "wet" in

because it s a colder weld there is real danger that on thicker stuff like Russ's arm there wont be proper fusion and it would be a weld prone to failure-especially for a novice

so apart from taking time to only weld the next bit when the first bit is cold enough to touch its a quick blast with a flap disk then some hand sanding with wet and dry and on with primer
no hiding welds under seam sealer and filler

as for which welder in Macedonia ?
im guessing that the Italian built Cebora( which was snap on and BOC over here as well) would be a likley candidate as a 2nd hand option. It only does 30A min and i found the contact in the trigger burnt out with the constant stop start welding needed for 2cv.

Sean

That is mighty difficult to weld and take great skills. Your welds looks just like my gasless welds. Still they need grinding etc and when painted looks like new

No way can you use a spot welder here, same for the middle of the chassis + 100s of other places where the spot welder can't reach.

lets see some of your seam welds done with gassless?

the photos dont do it justice the Argon spot welds need nothing more than a wipe before painting to loose the powdery residue

the butt welds on the bonnet hinge repair the co2 welds have sootyness as i think there was still some pu undercoat dust on the metal the large messy looking area is heat discolouration (mostly a bad photo due to being 2am and phone camera)

again the Argon mix weld has bright metal weld and only a slight powdery residue the discolouration is the heat affected area

ive used gassless wire only when im out of gas halfway through a job and its a messy spattery affair
big tip-try to beg, steal or borrow some "Cougar" as that is the Air products( french Co) one and you will be amazed at the differance in your welds.
as someone who fixes cars as a living im surprised you are still labouring on with gassless, still its a step up from "les rivets pop" which are considered stuctural in your part of the EU

Notes from a novice !
I did a bit of research on the web, and looking at all the opinions out there decided that Mig with Gas was probably the best bet for the combination of famously thin 2CV metal and being a learner. I purchased a second hand machine from eBay - there are loads out there - getting one with a sufficiently low amp rating is crucial - the cheap ones generally fall between two stools - not enough power for thick metal and too much for the thinner stuff. Also cheaper machines often have a wire feed rate independent of the power output which is one other thing to cope with when you are learning. The actual feed mechanism on the cheap ones are also often poorly designed/cheaply engineered. The secret seems to be (as with most skills) practice patience and practice. A self darkening mask makes life much easier as you can have two hands free and see what you are doing all the time - again loads to choose from on eBay. The collection of old computer cases in my garage provides a ready supply of thin steel to practice on. I am getting better but still some way to go before I tackle the floor of my D*lly with confidence. Even so it's very satisfying to learn a new skill and get that sense of starting to master what I had previously considered a bit of a black art. If buying a second hand machine make sure it's a model that you can get the consumables for - you will find that a putting a new tip and shroud on makes for a much easier and neater weld after a surprisingly short time when you first start, also I found a new liner made the feed much smoother.
I started by just trying to lay a smooth bead without joining anything and experimented with current and hand speed changes - it doesn't take too long to start to get a feel for what is going on - I found the noise the arc makes to be a good indication of how you are doing - 'sizzling sausages' is the description others have used. With thin metal the heat you are feeding into the material can be a real problem - short, separated runs at alternate ends of the join minimise the local heating - I am sure when you get better it's possible to zip along a long section in one go. I am still using the chuck away small CO2/Argon bottles but may get a conversion kit so I can use larger / cheaper cylinders.
You will also need some decent gloves, a selection of grips and did I mention practice ?

Don't have good photos, will do some next time
This is what I use. Yes I would like MIG with gas but bottle hire, refilling and contract is just too expensive. I've learned to cope with gasless, I know it doesn't look good but how cares. A bit of cleaning, grinding etc and the result is good. I have no isues with weldings not holding or cracking, if I did, I wouldn't continue with gasless. This is sufficient for thin 2cv metal but useless on thicker material.