Sat Oct 14, 2017 11:58 am by BlindSquirrel36C-30
Yes, CB89 spray welding shafts is about the only reason my mind wrapped around it and I decided to give it a go. So a little back story to bore the bejesus out of people. Back more than 10 years ago and I'm betting more like 20. My guy went to the Portland swap meet and saw a demonstration by a company called Rustbusters. He was intrigued and wanted to buy in to the franchise. The company refused because they wanted to limit franchise saturation. He researched some more and found that miller had made five (5) prototype machines. Two went to ford, two went to GM and the other was unspoken for. He bought it. I believe he said 35K way back then. They did not produce any more and Praxair took over and now produces machines. He has spray welded a lot of stuff, standard car and shaft stuff, but he has also spray welded fiberglass, and can build up stuff that is missing. So if you have a grill that is missing an end piece? It can be saved. Now to answer the other questions. He keeps the thickness to around a 1/16th of an inch he said. So the inside of the panel is mostly just as nice as the out side. It can be worked a little bit. It can be sanded, filed, and slightly bumped around with a hammer. But it doesn't stretch like sheet metal. It will turn green if you pee on it, so should be sealed rather quickly to keep environmental salts from affecting it I would think. It is the perfect texture to adhere a skim coat to if you go that route. His stated cost is $200 an hour, and a 1 hour minimum charge. So if you have a very small, one item area, probably not going to be cost effective for you. But there would be options. I would also make sure your item is pre-blasted so you find all the hidden spots that need attention. Like I said, I figure the worst that can happen is I'm out $200 and I have to make and weld in cab corners anyway at some point.