VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions POT METAL WELDING

Has anyone done any welding to pot metal. I need to have a part welded and was wondering If that Is a feasable thing to have done.

Don,

I have not, but this site might help.
http://www.muggyweld.com/potmetal.html

I would suggest doing a Google search on "welding pot metal." When I tried there was 534,000 results.


Good luck.

Thanks Jim. I clicked onto the site. What I want Is a place to do the work on my repair of pot metal, In the seattle area.

Hi Don,

There is a place in Seattle. I have misplaced their phone #. Check the Seattle phone book and look for Metal Finishing or words to that effect. They did some work for me and was great. (Price was NOT great). If I can find the info I will send it up to you.

Thanks Ray, I will check It out.

Don,

Here is a link to some plating businesses in Seattle. Perhaps Ray will recognize one.

http://www.thecityofseattle.com/plating/

Thanks Jim, I will check them out.

Mastercraft Metal Finishing
(206) 622-6380 1175 Harrison St
Seattle, WA

In the past i have had die-cast (aka pot metal) welded. It was many years ago and a welder at work did it for a very reasonable fee. There are filler rods that are available or they can be made by melting scrap "pot metal" into a rod shape and then fused using a TIG welder. Any accomplished TIG welder can do the work.

If a filler rod with a similar melting point is used then a supporting material is necessary to prevent the part being welded from slumping into a puddle. If a commercial rod with a lower melting point is used and care taken to prevent over heating then the supporting material is not necessary. Some larger swap meets have vendors that sell a rod. I have not used any but know others that have successfully.

I would highly suggest that a test piece be welded by anyone that you consider working on your precious part. Once they have sucessfully performed the weld on the test piece then they could be trusted to weld other similar materials.

Thanks Ray, I will give them a call. Thanks Chipper for the Information.

Hey Chevy Kid! Thanks for that cool web site on "POT METAL WELDING" Lost another hour or so out of my life! I will be ordering some of their rods>>

What is the part you need welded? Usually it is better to cast a new one than try to repair the old one.
Most of the so called "pot-metal welding rod" is very poor. I make my own rod from new zinc. I also use a 000 oxy-acetylene tip and weld with it.
Plaster is a good backup to use, to hold original parts in place while welding.
The big thing is to use just "enough" heat and not take too long.
One thing about welding original parts is that they will have moisture and you will end up with small pits around the new weld area. This makes plating very difficult. If it is not to be plated, then you can just use regular filler to smooth things out.
Do you have a picture of the part?

The part that I want to fix, Is a 1957 chevrolet hood bar. I want to add or build up each end about a quarter Inch to three eigths of a Inch. The hood bar Is all pot metal. Each end Is about two Inches by three Inches In size. I thought about adding a piece of steel to each end that Is the thickness I need. What I need to know Is how do I attach those pieces to the hood bar. If I can do that then I can have the bar rechromed. I thought about JB Weld to attach the metal pieces to each end, But not sure that would be a permanent fix. I need Ideas. Thanks. :confused:

It sounds as though you have a terrible fitting hood and hood bar extensions. JB weld is out, as the platers won't put it in their plating tanks. A good adjustment of your sheetmmetal sounds like the best bet. If your hood bar was broken, that can be fixed. Welding could be done on the ends
also, but should not be needed. Doesn't it fit the hood correctly? The ends should be flush with the edges of the hood. You are not trying to fit a 58 hood bar on are you? They are shorter....

The hood bar Is a original one and what I have found, Is that there was more then one outfit making the hood bars for chevrolet and I have seen several 57 hood bars the same shorter length like the one I have. We just took another one off a never touched car and It Is the same length as the one I have. The hood Is the same, It Is just the shortness of the hood bar to go end to end of the width of the hood. I have seen hood bars that go all the way end to end of the hood. I have found many on ebay and I contact the people selling them and so far they are all the length as the ones I have. I thought that by adding to each end that would be the way to go. If not I may just be satisified with the one I have on the car.

I guess that I have never run into an aftermarket that wouldn't fit...

What I have found with the aftermarket hood bars,Is that their molds are bad and are supposed to be In the process of being retooled. Two of the Classic Chevy dealers In the northwest just recieved new shipments of hood bars and they are just as bad as the earlier ones. The problem I have found, Is the outside front of the bars are wavy and not what they should be. To some people that may not matter, But to me I want them perfect.

Find a used original and have it replated.