That time a Harbor Freight stud welder almost cost me a whole quarter panel

Last Thursday I was pulling a dent on a 2018 Civic rear quarter and my cheap stud welder started acting up. The gun kept sticking and popping, ended up blowing a hole right through the metal. Had to patch it with a new piece and rework the whole area. Cost me an extra 3 hours and a lot of cussing. Anyone else had bad luck with budget dent pullers?

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john_johnson7514h ago

Tossed that Harbor Freight junk in the trash after the same thing happened to me on a Chevy truck door. Bought a used Snap-On stud welder off a retired body guy for $150 and it's been flawless for 3 years. You gotta watch the heat settings too - even with the good gun I run it on the lowest power and just do more passes. That cheap welder has no temp control at all, just buries too much heat too fast. Saved my bacon on a 2010 F-150 roof panel last month where a hole would've meant a whole new skin.