Thread: Can defender be sealed by ally tig welding?

Originally Posted by Tombie

And then the outer join would suffer corrosion

Is that bc of what’s in the rods, or bc water will now pool or both?

It an overlay panel...

Originally Posted by LRT

I’d say the pop top conversions replace the roof with a new and possibly superior design.

Umm, most use the original defender roof

Mulgo Poptop does, it get shorten by 60mm ish

There maybe some overseas version that start from scratch but I haven’t come cross them.

Originally Posted by jezzarezza

Is that bc of what’s in the rods, or bc water will now pool or both?

The defender material is very thin, you'd need to be a gun on the TIG at some low amperages and ideally pulsed to get acceptable work without blowing holes and/or warping it to buggary.
As for the corrosion, much of this would have to do with the sugaring of the weld on the backside of the weld pool where there is no gas coverage. Also, an out of position, overhead TIG weld on that material would be... um... interesting for a lot of welders out there.

I had cracks on an old ally boat welded and it fixed the cracks But new cracks developed at the weld.

Originally Posted by trout1105

I had cracks on an old ally boat welded and it fixed the cracks But new cracks developed at the weld.

Very common with alloy, welding makes it brittle.

I have read that the best way to seal the roof joints in a Defender is to remove the interior lining and seal it from the inside with a waterproof sealer.
I haven't done that because my leak is only minor and I'm not sure it's actually from the roof joint.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Very common with alloy, welding makes it brittle.

Cold cracking occurs in the HAZ (heat affected zone). Particularly prvalent with aluminium alloys.


Also, check out the distortion on the job at the 40s mark, and the 2m50s mark. This bloke is a gun, knows his stuff, and has top shelf gear.
My skill level is well and truly in the sikaflex end of the spectrum!