I recently stripped my '54 chevy cab to bare metal and found that the factory lead seams at the base of the windshield pillars are cracked and some places are even kind of pushed out of plane as if the top flexed and the lead didn't go with it. It was like this before I hoisted the cab off of the frame so who knows what caused it. I am thinking I should remove the lead and weld the seam and then bondo it back up. I never want to see that crack again, especially after final paint. Does this sound like the best fix? How should I remove the lead? Would it be better to heat the lead and flow it back together or something? But then how would I fill over that?
Yea, Remove the lead and weld it. I would use a propane torch and a wire brush. But I'm sure there are other ways to do it. After you grind the weld you can relead it if you want, or you can bondo right over old lead, just rough it up a bit first.
Sounds like a real ******! Having worked with body lead at the camaro factory for 18 years,it was common practice to "cover-up' a lot of seams,and mistakes with lead. Unfortunatly,once the lead is in the seam, it is almost impossible,to get it clean enough to reweld cleanly. What I would suggest is to wire brush it thoughly(with a cup brush in a die grinder). Then using a soft o.a. flame releading the joint. Brush on a paste flux tinning compound,heat until it burns,wipe off with a damp cotton rag.Soften a stick of lead onto the joint,(don't let it drip!) and paddle it to contour.(This all makes sense to you if you have done it before).If not ,Practice,patience,and practice. Once a seam is leaded,I don't think the plastic fillers Or anything else will stick to it(I could be wrong). Anyway that is what I would do. good luck, Glenn
http://gallery.oldholden.com/EK-Van-Chop?page=8 This fellow (Streetneat) may have some hints via email, he is leadwiping the car above from scratch. He posts pictures up as they are asked. Email me if you can't find his contact address. Rusty
I think I'd rather grind it all out and weld it up than learn how to re-lead it. The lead failed once so why trust it again especially ifit will be installed by an amatuer. It took me years to get this good with bondo, so i'd like to stick with modern solutions. It there any safety issue wih wire brushing it out? Then do I just melt out what is left in the seam?
I'm not a big fan of lead. I'd repair it like pork&beand described, and fill with body filler. Melt the lead out, and wire brush by hand, then grind with 40 grit. Wear a partical mask. I've welded once leaded seams dozens of times, get it good and clean, never had a problem welding them.
No Problems. I remember he told me he did have a problem with different metal thicknesses as on hot days the seams moved which is why he is using lead. He will admit only to slight lead poisoning.
Heya - streetneat here. I stumbled across my name in this thread. Yep I'm not a fan of lead wiping either having performed this on my EK Van chop. In short the potential for acids leaching out into an expensive Candy paint job later on isn't really worth the risk. I have left my van unfinished for quite some time now just to see what the lead will do. So far its all held in there pretty good - with only one tiny pinhole of rust which I spot blasted away. For my money and peace of mind I would recommend epoxy priming and using UPols fibre fill in leaded join areas. I lead wiped my Van because I was displaying the car at the time in bare steel and also was trying to avoid potential shrink-back in the one join across the roof. Lead is dead IMHO. - or at least will contribute towards death at any rate.... Cheers
Vee out the cracks in the lead, grind the highs slightly low, put 36 grit scratches on the remaining surface and apply plastic filler. Removing the lead may leave deep areas and result in using plastic filler in thicknesses beyond the manufacturers recommendations. jw
You can remove lead and weld/fill...no problems. Consider though! Lead was always the recommended material for areas that will see stress of movement because (oddly enough) it has a level of plasticity that exceeds plastic filler! A door edge repair, door posts near hinges...A pillar joints etc. Anywhere flex is to be somewhat expected. If properly applied lead failed due to normal stress of the area...plastic will fail sooner. Now...just how old was that failed lead joint? A 1954 pickup you say....? hmmmm.....
Instead of a wire brush, use a whisk broom. The straw of the broom will push the lead off nicely without cooling it. You'll be amazed how clean you can get the metal with little effort. An old bodyman I work with taught me this. Clean the remaining residue off with a 3M clean n strip disc. Dave
Plastic filler is for people who don't have the skill to work lead. Bondo is like fake hooters or plastic flowers- - - - -nice to look at, but not as good as the real thing! The acid bleed-through can be solved with a good scrubdown with a strong baking soda solution after metal finishing and before primer is applied. Jerry
Lead is for people so caught up in pounding their own traditional chest, they have overlooked all the advancements in autobody for the last 20 years.
Well said SlowandLow, lead just doesn't work well with paint. What has worked well for me is melting all the lead out and replacing it with Kitty hair or a similar long or short strand fibreglas filler and then skim coating that with a high quality filler. It's easy and you will have no problems down the line.
ding ding ding ding !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! modern fillers when used as intended are far superior to lead .
Just wondering how many of the guys who posted have been around long enough to see the results of YOUR OWN work 20-30 years later??? I know what works best for me but don't forget most Plastic fillers have been around at least 50 years and two part/epoxy paints at nearly 30 years. I choose properly prepared Lead with skim coat of plastic filler in a joint. Properly prepared metal with a skim coat of plastic filler on open Panels or areas easliy destorted with heat. So in other words, keep the plastic filler minimal(as close to less than1/8 inch).None of these fillers were designed to replace proper metal work and panel fit.
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