On my 62 galaxie im done to bare metal and ford did a terrible job of smoothing the sail panel leaded seams.Ive got to get this area and the area above the tailights (also lead seams) smooth as im gonna wet-sand and buff the paint.Should i remove old lead and use body filler to smooth or just grind out some of the lead to get it low then skim with body filler? thanks mike
I would recomend just grinding it down some and filling over it. IT is usually not very well smoothed out in that area from the factory and usually needs to be redone to be real straight. If you do feel the need to remove it all, use a torch and heat it untill it just starts to melt and use a wire brush(hand held not power) and brush it off, away from you of course It will be hot! HAve fun
If you're going to grind out some of the lead just to get it low and skim with filler, just remove the lead all together. I'm not saying one way is better than the other, I'll let the body men advise on that. But removing the lead is really, really easy--just heat it with a little torch (a Burns-o-matic is fine) and it will melt. Wipe out with a damp rag. -Brad
One just did.... The lead from the factory can be as much as 3/8 of an inch in a sail panel on old cars. I don't see any reason to take it out and put that much bondo in it's place. But I've only been doing body and paint work for 30 years so I'm just guessing here
Where I work we almost always melt out all the old lead, I wouldn't recommend grinding the lead, you don't want to breath that stuff. Just heat it with a torch, and clean it out with a wire brush like the others mentioned. We usually fill it with 3M marine repair filler, it's like a kitty hair thats water proof, then skim with filler. Whatever you end up doing, protect yourself well, wear a respirator, and gloves at least.
In that case where its on a vertical there is no need to remove -as stated already.....Id say 80 grit on your D/A and blow it off with air[screw the prepsol/cleaner shit] then apply skim of filler. I have a pic of a factory lead seam that DID need removed though Ill try to post it....It Rusted out the metal below the lead on the top of a quarter panel seam. In the pic- I pryed the lead up with a screwdriver to expose the badly rusted metal that it has seperated from.....caused by flux/acid not being neutralized? Im not sure but that is what I suspect.
the 1/4s on my 55 olds had some questionable lead, i think tho it worsened after i air craft stripped it...but anyhow, i ground a bunch out till i got some roughness to it and filled on top, blocked out. its been in and out for awhile in different kinds of weather and i havent had a problem yet with it. (its not a runner, but has sat in the driveway in rain when the garage was needed) i would melt it out if ya could, i would have, but just didnt have the torch and figured it to be safe. chances are you are fine either way.
Hey, Ya didn't say if the lead was cracked or pullin away from the seams? 'if' that's the story, I'd say remove it, but not if its just wavey. DO NOT GRIND OR DA LEAD!, to do so will produce lead dust. The lead dust is easly ingested into the body via the lungs and skin. The human body does not disapate lead, once ingested, but stores it in the liver, kidneys and bone marrow:bad voo doo! If ya have little kids, keep 'um outa the shop when working with lead.......So much for my 'Chicken- Little' bit.
I have done many restos. some i had to completly remove the lead. The mentioned torch works the best. If you do remove it all DO NOT FILL THE 1\4 TO 1\2 (or more) seam with plastic filler. That is abuse of the product and will fail. I recomend some sort of fiberglass bonded filler like dynaglass or kitty hair. I personally use a product called marine-tex it is about $50.00 a qt and is over kill but I stand behind my work so I dont mind spending a little extra. If the edges are peeling back on the lead and you dont want to strip it out. wear a respirator and grind the lead till it feathers out. Depending on the depth use the appropiate filler. I have heard of lead affecting new paint jobs but have not seen it personaly.
Great advice above: I'll ad that if you remove the lead a good product to fill the large void with is All-Metal. Also, once the metal is clean & prepped you should coat it with epoxy primer before filling. It'll seal the crack in the seam & enhance adhesion of the filler. You can even just mix up some in a cup & brush it on (very quick & easy). ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" Pardon my driving; I'm reloading.
A retired bodyman gave me advice for removing old lead on my car. Use a propane torch and a wisk broom with the brisles cut short. The wisk broom doesn't conduct heat so it actually takes less heat to remove the lead. Metal objects like putty knives and wire brushes act like a heat sink with lead and it hardens before you can scrape it off. Dave
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