Unsure of which is better

[Itsback]

Hey all,
New here to the site. I’m restoring a car and later a truck and looking to do body panel repair and not loving the wire feed welder. I’m no welding pro by any means but I have done a little bit of tig that I was taught by a professional. I’ve been looking around and just want what will work for me and not break the bank. I can buy a lightly used out of warranty Lincoln Square Wave 200 for $1200 with everything. I’ve been looking at the PrimeWeld TIG 200 as well as the CT520D. Seems like the CT520D does everything the TIG 200 does plus plasma and is $378 compared to the $400 for the TIG200. That’s according to the website. And these are both 3 year warranty with everything as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!!

[Hobbytime]

tig or mig with gas will work, you dont want to use flux core anyplace you will need to paint as the flux could cause issues with the paint... you can extend the lincoln warranties by 2 years but I believe you need to do it in the 1st year of owning it..

[Itsback]

Does anyone know anything about the TIG200?

[Louie1961]

The big brother of the Primweld tig 200 is the TIG 225 AC/DC, which several people on this board have them, and they seem to get decent reviews. If it is only those two choices I would steer clear of anything that is a combined welder/plasma cutter. Those combination units seem to blow up pretty quickly and don't last. Do yourself a favor and avoid that headache. Also, be sure to note neither of the welders you mentioned is suited to weld aluminum.

[123weld]

Hey all,
New here to the site. I’m restoring a car and later a truck and looking to do body panel repair and not loving the wire feed welder. I’m no welding pro by any means but I have done a little bit of tig that I was taught by a professional. I’ve bee!

from the soundss of it, (even for myself), i'd buy a nice used 110v lincoln mini mig, w/ infinate dials, such as the sp 125, and some .023 wire .
tig is like golf. i could take golf lessons from jack nickolson, or joe blow at the local golf coarse, and it probabaly wouldnt make much diff.

[Itsback]

I have a Lincoln wire feed that I’ve been using. Maybe I should save my money and just keep using it.

[thefinn2003]

fwiw, my squarewave 200 blew up recently. some research indicates that this machine has a tendency to do that. a lincoln maintenance man told me the same: seems the main input power board likes to go pop. cost to replace that board is almost a grand. i think i'm about ready to pull the trigger on a primeweld machine. when i'm comfortable spending real money i'll look for a precision 180 or similar. i'm starting to think that with an inverter-based machine you should either pay top dollar for a miller, or get the cheapest one possible so it doesn't hurt so much to replace it.

[BD1]

I have a Lincoln wire feed that I’ve been using. Maybe I should save my money and just keep using it.

What machine do you have ? is a 110 or 220 volt ? The 110 volt works best on a dedicated circuit.A 30 amp is the best you can have. I would go with a 220 volt machine IF you go new. The duty cycle makes a lot of difference.
A mig is the prefered machine for bodywork using gas. Easy Grind wire is what many prefer.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...g+patch+panels

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...g+patch+panels

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...g+patch+panels

This may help too. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...g+patch+panels

[QCTechInsp]

Hey all,
New here to the site. I’m restoring a car and later a truck and looking to do body panel repair and not loving the wire feed welder. I’m no welding pro by any means but I have done a little bit of tig that I was taught by a professional. I’ve been looking around and just want what will work for me and not break the bank. I can buy a lightly used out of warranty Lincoln Square Wave 200 for $1200 with everything. I’ve been looking at the PrimeWeld TIG 200 as well as the CT520D. Seems like the CT520D does everything the TIG 200 does plus plasma and is $378 compared to the $400 for the TIG200. That’s according to the website. And these are both 3 year warranty with everything as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!!

I had the square wave 200 and after warranty ended recently I sold it. I have a Primeweld 225 now and the quality and management of the arc is superior to the lincoln. Warranty is 3 years and it does aluminum. You can not go wrong with the Primeweld.