I need to protect the shells from rust as best I can. I don't expect anyone to leave their plane outdoors long term like the original ones. Rust-Oleum has a new High Heat paint which resists heat up to 2000 degrees F. It comes in Black and Flat Aluminum. They also make a Primer to use with it, all available at Lowe's. I don't want paint on the welds so I masked them and sprayed on 2 light coats of the primer and 2 light coats of the paint inside the heat boxes. I'll paint the outside after I'm done welding.
I clamped the lower shell on the assembly fixture to hold the inlets in position. I don't want to accidentally twist the shells and cause the inlets not to align when I weld the top and bottom together.
The spot welding is you just close the electrodes, Which were adjusted for this thickness steel, and hold the switch until you see a small glowing area around the electrode. About 2 seconds and it's welded.
The boxes are welded to all six lower shells. I'll sand blast the weld spots so the paint adheres well and then paint the inside of the manifold shells before I weld them together.
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