Hey, Before I do any clean up, I like to pass a nice bushy flame over the leaded area. Not a flame hot enough to melt the solder, jus enough to cause any trapped flux hiding beneith the surface or in pours to flare up. As you're passing the flame over the panel look for orange coloured wet areas as they come to the surface. Let the panel cool and wipe to with acetone and clean rags. Now make a paste of baking soda & water and scrub the area. Wash the paste off with water and follow up with some metal conditioner and scrub that in good with some steel wool. " Life ain't no Disney movie "
At one time i did alot of lead work . The method i used,which was passed on from an old timer, was to make a paste out of baking soda and water and completely rub it into the leaded area and surrounding sheetmetal . This neutralizes the acid from the tinning process . After that ,clean with prep sol or similar solvent and do whatever prep you would normally do, depending on the paint system . I did this for years without any problems . For what it's worth,be real careful sanding and grinding the lead . Years back,we did not pay alot of attention to certain safety precautions but the fine lead powder and residue gets absorbed through the skin and builds up in various parts of your anatomy,and never goes away! Bob
What those guys said and you need to do it right away too. The flux has some kind of acid in it and the area will flash over with rust in a day - as i learned by experience.
What they said. Baking soda and water. I have new lead over parts of my car that has been exposed for a year or more in my garage and no rust yet. Just make sure and dry it really good.
Quote from Jailhousebob; "For what it's worth,be real careful sanding and grinding the lead . Years back,we did not pay alot of attention to certain safety precautions but the fine lead powder and residue gets absorbed through the skin and builds up in various parts of your anatomy,and never goes away!" I am wondering if OSHA allows the use of lead in body shops anymore?
The lead is very heavy and dosn't float around in the air like bondo, i have never seen 'fine lead powder and residue' - in fact you gather up the lead filings for melting down and reuse. I'm not suggesting that you throw caution to the wind, i just feel more threatened by typical bodyshop dust than lead.
Hey, True that lead " doesn't flot around in the air like Bondo", but it's the micro fine particles that can be ingested as well as the fumes NEVER DA sand or grind lead, or let little geeters in the shop when working lead, and if moma has a" trophy in the oven" keep her out as well! ALL of the health warnings about working lead or automotive refinish products should be taken seriously I have the lead levels in my blood checked yearly, and if you work alot of lead you may wanna look into this. I've many other things that will probably kill me before lead gets a clean shot " The problem with america is that the guys who really know how to run the country are all cutting hair and tending bar. " - George Burns -
The Jalopy Journal
