[TimeWarp]

Still new to welding in general, and as mentioned on the thin panels it seems impossible not to warp it even with hitting micro spots while butt welding, moving a few inches and hitting a spot again while coming back later to keep filling in slowly. I was told to keep a bottle of water handy to shoot on the hot metal, keep it cool and shrink it. Am I doing the right thing using it?

[Shiny]

I am barely a novice, but I don't think there is any way to avoid shrinkage in a weld. How much distortion and warp that shrinking causes depends on the shape of the panel around the welded joint. My first attempt on a lower fender patch went ok for me, but when I filled in a line of closely-spaced trim holes on a curved panel, it was a mess getting it straight. I thought learning to weld was hard until I tried to straighten after!

I read to whack the weld directly between hammer and dolly to stretch after it cools as 6d7gto said, but maybe someone who knows this stuff can share exact technique they use to stretch after welding?

I think having a little gap between panels will also help, but may not feel right when you are thinking your goal is to have the two pieces fit together well.

I don't see how cooling with water could help but I'm interested in learning with you.

[Greg Reid]

Here's something I was looking at that has some good info. Sheet metal is discussed down the page a ways...
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...on-detail.aspx