I tried to lead many, many years ago. I grew frustrated and gave up. I couldn't get the lead to stick, it would flow off or be two hard to spread. I even bought a beginner kit at a swap meet that the seller promised was a lot easier than the traditional lead. Well, I rebuild about 50% of the rear of my '37 Buick, cutting out and replacing the sheet metal. I tried my best to weld all the patches solidly in but I still had a few spot with pin holes. I decided it was good enough but I wanted to seal everything up and thought lead would be the way to go. The last two nights I tried leading again. Last night I used what I could get from the local home improvement store, 60/40 acid core solder. I searched the HAMB and found a bunch of posts that suggested using this. It worked OK, I was able to tin the metal and then apply the solder but it wasn't quite right. Today I was near an auto body supply house and stopped in and bought two pounds of 70/30 lead and their tinning liquid. Got back to my shop and started tinning with the lead. After that the lead went on without a problem. The 70/30 lead tinned a lot easier and worked a lot easier. I had a little problem with applying the correct amount of heat but was able to get it to stick and even to a workable consistency. I thought it turned out pretty good.
Looks like you did good. Nice to see someone step up and try it. As far as why you can do it now, could be an age thing. Seems I learn much better now than when I was young
the 70/30 is nice to work with but it was probably more to due with being a bit more patient with the heat and keeping it malleable vs. hot and running. Once you get the feel for it's behaviour it just makes sense. Congrats, slinging lead just feels "cool" don't it?
Hey, Be sure you clean and nertralize the leaded areas well! Acid core solder, used in larger quantities, can spell paint problems up the road The acid in the mix continues to eat at the metal, and can leach up through your paint. I like to take a ''bushy'' flame, much like the one you leaded with, and run it over the leaded areas. What you're looking is flux , rizing to the surface as bright spots or ''flare ups''. Wipe down the surface with lacquer thinner, and then scrub the whole repair with a mix of baking soda and water. Be sure to use your fender as a guide for shaping the leaded repair, when you start to file the flange. It's real easy to cut too deep and have to add additional lead to build up the area, and no, the use of plastic filler, spot putty or hi-build ain't cool in restoration work Looks good! " Humpty Dumpty was pushed ''
Tinning is "god" to lead work. It's also the time to follow what "pimpin" says and get that acid to the top and wiped away. Get some baking soda and water in a spritzer bottle (gotta shake it to death to mix) and spray it where you can't really get to it well once the whole job is completed. When it stops fizzing up, you're pretty safe. Good job.
Pimpin, Highlander, thanks for tips. I was wondering about that. Chopold, will do the best I can. I am by no means an expert on this but as with everything else I do I think I'm better than most (most people wouldn't even try some of this stuff) but not as good as many others. That's why I come here to learn from the many others.
Congratulations on learning the ancient skill. The secret is in controlling the heat and having everything clean, and tinned to perfection. There is a knack to it, once you learn it becomes easy to do a good job. With practice you can spread the lead around like icing on a birthday cake. A warning. Do not leave pin holes, moisture will work its way in and rust the steel behind the lead. Eventually the lead will bubble or the steel will rust away. This will take years, and I have seen old lead jobs where they didn't care, but it is not a good thing to do. So in future you know the seam has to be welded or brazed perfect. If you don't want to start over, and I don't blame you, seal the work area from behind with POR 15 or Rustoleum and seam sealer. As long as you seal up the pin holes you have nothing to worry about.
For all here interested in paddling lead, I have a trick to share with you learned from a pure rookie. HEAT GUN. Yep, I said HEAT GUN. A flameless heat gun will light a cigarette. They typically run from 425 to 750 degrees. The torch flame is perhaps double that, but the melting point of the lead is around 450, give or take. With a heat gun you can get it right to the edge of falling down on a vertical panel and paddle it where you need it, then flip to the cool air at the flick of a switch to get it set. Takes some getting used to, but I'd bet even a seasoned pro would appreciate it when it just wants to fuck with ya, and there's times it does. This for the shaping of difficult areas and it should be applied with a torch 1st. Good luck...
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