Club 80-90 Forums

Just starting to address some small body work issues on my bus, nothing major but can anyone point me in the right direction with buying mild steel? Which type do I go for ie cold rolled, galvanised and what thickness is best for general panel work?

Steer clear of anything coated, galvanised steel gives off poisonous gasses when welded.

Thanks for that

as said don't use galvanised the fumes are deadly,i normally use 1mm thick zinc plated or plain mild steel if doing bodywork type welding if using zinc plated I always run grinder round the edge just to remove some of zinc.If you lived local to me I could have got you some from my work its sacrilidge what goes in the scrap bin.

isnt zinc coated the same as galvanised?? Id be carefull welding that as zinc fumes are poisonous (or do you mean zinc paint coating?)
normally folk just use mild steel - 1.2mm for panels maybee 2.0mm for more structural sections - just use same thickness as original metal your replacing
most auto factors (such as euro car parts etc) can get you sheets in or there are various online suppliers

it is coated but can be welded as I said clean the edge off that's to be welded obviously ventilation is good ,galvanised is deadly first time I welded it I couldn't breath properly and had one massive headache never again.

1.2mm as a minimum and is good for most general panal works, , lots of areas use thicker and for a reason , post up or pm for if you get stuck, personally stay away from coated stuff if your not conversant, as for galv, dont even go there , its not just the fumes it also welds poorly and is not meant for what your looking at doing.
most towns have firms that fabricate and use the stuff , go find a small one and they also have loads of offcuts in the skips, just take some £££ for their tea fund
mm

Thanks again all, appreciate the input and advice