Technical how do I get lead out of this seam? 1951 Chevrolet

I am putting on a partial quarter panel in a 51 Chevrolet because the shop where this car was before thought they would fix a dent with a stud welder and destroyed the quarter in the process... not sure what he was thinking.

anyways I cut it out at the factory leaded seam. I used heat and a wire brush to get the lead out before I started, then used my air grinder to clean up the rest after I took the pieces apart, or so I thought. I started welding it up and it was obviously still contaminated as my welds ****. it is like welding galvanized metal with toxic smoke and everything.

tried my spot blaster to blast it out. tried the edge of a cut off wheel, tried the edge of a scotch brite pad. any other ideas?

 

hey,

Are you welding this with a ''squirtgun'' welder?

After you have removed all of the lead you can see, grind or blast, try several washes with muratic acid and a small stainless brush. The acid will point out the lead and trapped flux you've missed.

 

yes, I am a ''squirtgun" welder.

Muratic acid like for pools? wonder if they sell it in less than gallon jugs. does that acid need to be somehow neutralized after?

funny thing I did the same thing on the other side on a much smaller scale with no problems

 

Baking soda will neutralize the muratic. You can clean your battery terminals with it too.

 

You could try brazing. Next time you will know to avoid the factory seam.

 

I would suggest using heat from an oxy. Wire brush it as you go and that should clean it out properly. That is what I do.

Mtw fdu.

 

You can "squirtgun" seams with a LITTLE lead in them, but you have to do it twice.

As you've experienced, the first round of welding is going to be pretty badly contaminated because the intense heat of the molten metal draws the impurities into the weld. Like any panel, go slow and skip around to avoid warpage etc. etc. When you're done, grind the weld away and then groove it out with a cut-off wheel. Keep in mind that heat from grinding will ***-can a panel too, so skip around and take breaks.

Now... weld it again! There should be much less (if any) contamination because it was all trapped in the weld you ground away. Try a little section first before you take my word for it, but I've had luck with this method.

 

I can't think of anything on a car that I would want to braze.

next time I will do it the same, but clean the lead off better before I put it together. I always weld parts on a body the way the factory did if it is at all possible to do so.

 

Yeah, me too....