Gas acytlylene welding is more satisfying for body work , and your welds don't look like chicken poop. It is easier to learn with gas than mig on thin metal. Mig is good for thicker metal 1/8\" + I prefer gas on really thin stuff like body panels. I just welded my 1/16\" header and went from mig with gas, to flux core mig, to acytlyne gas welding and the gas welding by far did a way better job, and filled any pin holes I had the first time when pressure testing, the mig I was chasing pin holes all over. I will save my mig for big stuff from now on.
I must say though mig welding with flux core leaves a better looking bead than mig with gas. Fluxcore has a slow wire feed speed which equals a fine bead. Mig with gas has the wire feed flying and you will have huge beads fast which is good for filling, or if you are not that good yet, big gobs of beads. I made my carb adapter using mig with flux core and 4 people thought I tig welded it, the bead was small and perfect.
Kevin
hey kevin, i'm glad you found something that works for you, but i find your post somewhat confusing.
there is no flux core mig welding. it's mig welding or flux core welding. one of the differences is that mig uses a mixture of co2 and argon in a bottle to shield the weld and flux core uses a flux core wire that creates a shield as it meets the heat from the welder.
also, typically, mig is better for thin stuff. it does depend on the size of wire you use, tho. thinner metal=smaller wire. also the cfm that the gauge on your bottle is set to. and all mig welders should have adjustable wire feed and voltage settings so you can fine tune it to your needs.
allthough i have never used flux core welding, i hear it spatters quite a bit.
one problem i've found with oxy-acetylene welding is the amount of relatively uncontrollable heat that is created. bad for thin vw metal.
also, the metal on our acvw's is so thin that it is tough to lay down a continuous bead, no matter what type of welding you are using. usually a tack here and then another 6\"s away and then one in the middle and then one in the middle of each of those spots and then in the middle of those...until they meet. i know one guy that can lay down a pretty fine bead on vw metal...and he's been doing it for years and is in the field.
imho, it all comes down to the users technique and the settings on the machine that they use. when i bought my mig welder, i went to main street sheet metal and bought a 5'x8\" piece of thin 24 gauge metal, and cut a 2\" strip off of it and then welded it back together. after doing that over and over and dialing in the settings on the machine and bottle, i was comfortable enough to use it on the car.
welding is not brain surgery, but it is an art. it just takes time and practice and the proper use of the machine. in the end you'll probably spend 10% of the time on the machine welding and 90% of the time prepping and dressing your work. B)
but it sure is fun.
