I was wondering if there is difference between brands of MIG wire. I am building a full mild steel chassis '65 Dart and doing some body work with my Hobart Handler 187 I recently got. I plan on getting .024" and .035" wire. Any advice for a welding newbie would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Roy

Mig wire is pretty standard between brands. In fact, its most likely all made by one company and then packaged in OEM packaging.

The gas will play a key part in weld quality. For what you're doing go with PraxAir "autoweld".

.024 is good for doing sheet metal. The .035 is for heavier gauge metal like roll bar tubing. The welder should tell you what heat range and wire speed settings to use for each gauge of steel you want to weld. Lots of practice is the key to good welds, and in different positions - sideways, straight down, straight up, like the different positions you need to be in when welding a cage. Well fitting pieces are the other key to good welding - tight to each other and cleaned of paint, rust, etc. Don't go anywhere near the car til you feel confident in your abilities.

Get some short pieces of roll bar diameter and gauge tubing. Miter the tubing and make some joints, practice your welding skills. Then when you are comfortable welding, put the pieces in a position that makes them hard to get to or weld. Tear up what you build testing the strength of the weld. When you can weld in any position and trust each weld with your life you will be ready to build the car.

Set the power level first so you get the penetration
then set the wire speed... you want it to sound like
bacon frying in a pan...... practice

Buy a good spool of 70thousands tensile strength wire at .035 and you will be good for most metal(steel)welding from 1/8" to 1/4".