Jim Bow,
Is your welding instructor a monk? Bill is right...when it comes to sticking thin body panels together, the name of the game is 'get in and get out'! This means little heat and keep that minimal heat very localized. This is what keeps the thin panels from turning into pretzels.
One click of the trigger and your wire feed has created a molten puddle AND added filler material. Try that with a Oxy-Acetylene torch...you have to play the torch on the spot for quite awhile to melt the material and add your filler rod, meanwhile the adjacent panel is feeling the affects of the heat. Ask the Monks as the Monastery if this sounds like the real deal!
Fr.Stuart
