Hey aerowelder,
I see you also have discovered the realm of diecast(potmetal) and the associated frustrations that go with it. Listen, there is an answer. About 5 years ago, I discovered a fellow in Hurst, Texas....Charles Kimbrough who solved the problem to repair diecast metals. He has an E-bay store, Surplus Rare Earth Magnet Neodymium. He sells the rods that will cure your problem. Back when I got some from him, they were labeled HTS735. I believe he has changed the designation. Anyway, you can look at his product by going to E-Bay and typing in the item #260173747923 and read his informative description. Believe me, they work.....you gotta do some practice on some scrap to get the "feel" of it. It can be done quite well with just a propane torch, and if necessary on thick material(>.500), MAPP gas would suffice. I found that if I clean the metal as I do with aluminum, the welds are very strong. I have repaired many diecast items without a failure or a return. And, I do charge an adequate fee for those repairs, as they cannot be repaired any other way. Diecast is really a lot of garbage metal which includes zinc, manganese, brass, copper, aluminum, iron, and any other garbage material they throw in the mix. It is just the residual scrap that is unusable for any other application and is utilized to make inexpensive products including many auto parts. Anyway, I hope this may help you to solve your problem.....Good Luck....Denny

Aerowelder

What kind of product are you talking about?  It makes a big difference.  I have welded expensive door pulls (Zinc Die Cast) using GTA DCEN with 2% Thoriated Tungsten, using autogenous welding technique and Hi Freq Start, and a sharpened 1/16 inch 316 ss bare rod, ( used to break up the dross to get the sides to melt together).

On larger castings, I used a Eutectic brand Zinc rod as a filler and an Oxy-fuel torch to melt the rod.  I used a Eutectic heat block as a mold to keep the product from loosing shape as it melts.

Once I was able to use the chrome plating as a mold form when I repaired a Chrevolet door pull.

The most expensive repair job I ever did was the gold plated die cast leg on a $60,000.00 Italian Provincial Glass toilet bowl!!  I had to make a mold then die grind out the back of the leg almost to the gold plate, then melt the Eutectic rod into the form.  I would weld a little bit, then re-make the mold as I turned the piece.

This Zinc die cast metal is very sluggish to get to melt, but if you use a scratch tool, you break up the oxide and the stuff flows like Mercury, but it then gells up like aluminum.   Color match is seemingly impossible.

Joe Kane

I will give it a try. Thanks for the information. I'll keep you posted of my progress