WELDER FOR CAR

If you plan to start working on cars you’ll eventually need a welder. But which welder is best for car repair?

Welding Differences For Car Repair

First, let's compare some of the different welding methods you can use for welding on a car:

• Flux Core Gasless Welder - No gas needed which is great for beginners, but flux makes lots of spatter (small beads of molten metal) and requires much more grinding and sanding cleanup work. However, Flux is possible which you can read more about in our flux welding body panel guide here.

• MIG Welders - Uses shielding gas typically 75% CO2 and 25% Argon mix. MIG is not too difficult for beginners and doesn’t create much spatter. This reduces the grinding and sanding work compared to Flux core. We have an entire in-depth guide to MIG welding here.

• TIG Welders - 100% argon shielding gas requires more precision as you’ll need to feed wire into the weld pool with the stinger. This requires both hands to work in tandem to create a proper weld. It’s a bit more advanced but creates a very clean weld. TIG will end up with the least amount of grinding and sanding.

You can also choose a multi-process welder. These welders can do MIG/TIG/Flux plus stick welding.

We don’t recommend stick welding for thinner auto-body sheet metal. You’ll more than likely blow out the sheet metal and it also creates spatter and slag. Save stick for thicker material.

COMPARING WELDER BRANDS

If you live close to one of the 1,500 Harbor Freight store locations in the US, you’ve probably visited the welder section. Harbor Freight is pretty popular with the DIY crowd. We’ll compare welders under $800 from Harbor Freight with another DIY restoration-focused company Eastwood (we currently use the Eastwood MP140i). Eastwood has a few stores in select states, but you can also purchase Eastood welders online here

Harbor Freight VS Eastwood Welders
Brand	Harbor Freight	Eastwood
Select Welder	MIG 90 MIG 140 MP140i MIG 180 200 DC TIG	Flux 125 Titanium Easy Flux 125 170 AMP-DC Vulcan ProTIG 165 Titanium MIG 140 Titanium MIG 170 Titanium Unlimited 140 MP Titanium Unlimited 200 MP
Price (MSRP)	$199	$99
Welding Type	MIG*/Flux	Flux
Upgrades	*MIG Starter Kit Required for MIG Welding	None
Max Material Thickness	1/8 Inch	3/16 Inch
Input Voltage	120V	120V
Output Current Adj.	30A-90A	Up to 90A
Wire Speed Feed	80-278 in/min	Not Listed
Duty Cyc.	25%@90A 60%@65A 100%@50A	20%@90A
Panel Controls	Knob Style	Knob Style
Weight	14.52 lbs	24.15 lbs
Dimensions	10.75"x5.5"x10.75"	14.375"x8.25

Welder duty cycle will dictate how long you can perform a continuous weld at a particular setting. You’ll mostly be performing tack or spot welding to prevent sheet metal warping, so the duty cycle isn’t super critical in all cases.

Note: If you only have a 120V 20AMP outlet in your garage, then go with a 120V/220V welder. A 220V-only welder will require you to install a 220V outlet and breaker.

WHICH WELDER IS BEST?

LOW BUGDET WELDER

If you’re on a budget and looking for a lower-end welder for cars, then the Eastwood MIG 90 is the best option compared to the lower costing Harbor Freight Chicago Electric Welding Flux welder. With the MIG 90, you can start with flux and add MIG later.

HIGHER BUDGET WELDER

However, if you can spend $800, the Titanium Unlimited 200 Multi-Process welder from Harbor Freight is the best bang for the buck. If you want more features on an Eastwood welder, you’ll have to spend more than $800.

WATCH HOW TO MIG WELD

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