Hey guys I was in the garage working on removing the eyebrow from the center of my shoebox hood.....cut and dry shaped a filler panel took the area down to metal and began welding....next thing you know it's oozing lead all over the gravel pan and into my shoes.....There is a lot of lead in the peak of my hood .... What do you think I can do ... Can I weld it on the backside and fill in the seam in the front with all metal? There is quite a bit of lead there...,its solid but ugly Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Depends on how much work you want to do. I would used a torch CAREFULLY (not too hot) and melt out the old lead clean up the old metal that was under the lead. Then go at it like you want.
I'd say you are at least going to have to clean the lead off the area you are working on and it looks like you have quite a bit of work to do to get that right. I wouldn't think that you had to take it that far away from your work area though. Work the metal the best you can and then figure out if you need filler or not.
work the lead with a propane torch, just warming it until it starts to change colour,,,, moving the torch back and forth rather than holding it in a single spot... once it starts to soften, it can be shaped with wooden spoons or paddles. They can be purchased from Eastwood, or made yourself from hardwood....
hi chop777, advice from 60+ years experience. you should not try to lead on top of old lead....! best to warm lead and brush off. use a torch and a wire brush. you can blend onto edges of old lead, but not over!! if you want to use mud or plastic filler over any lead, best to clear off paint , metalprep and seal with a coat of epoxy primer. you can then mud over lead to finish if necessary. with filler, be sure you have no high spots. you can't fill a high spot!!!! lead done properly is far, far superior to bondo or lead. if you must use mud , it sticks much better to epoxy than most anything else. properly done , mud should be just fine. hope this helps. tinguy see ya!!!
You have a fair amount of welding to do yet and the lead must be removed back several inches from the weld area. Carefully warming the lead will allow it to run off the panel revealing the tinned surface that the lead was anchored to. You could also catch the flowing lead and reuse it. I have never attempted to weld tinned metal and I would remove the thin tinned coating with a strip disc or light grinding/sanding with nothing coarser than 80 grit. You don't want to thin the metal. Finish the welding, work the panel back to contour as best as possible and finish with lead or plastic filler if needed. Lead can be applied to and blended into an existing lead fill.
And, as always, wear appropriate respiratory protection, and vlean any exposed skin thoroughly, immediately after working with lead. Lead is highly toxic, and exposure is cumulative. You won't know that you have done damage, until you're screwed.
If I was doing the work, I would remove all the lead, do the body work, and use a modern filler to finish the repair. Modern fillers are much better than lead. The repair will last longer than the original lead repair. Just my 2 cents worth
Lots of conflicting info here, shouldn't try to lead over old lead, can lead over old lead, lead far superior to bondo, modern fillers are better than lead...... Reminds me of a song the Man in Black did: And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?"
I'd have to agree with Ebbsspeed in that there is too much conflicting info given and some misinformation that runs more towards personal opinion rather than fact. One thing is that if it was done correctly the old lead work doesn't have to be removed Case in point this shoebox: The guys are right in that when working with lead it's n to use the proper protective equipment and ventilation. But that goes with working with the plastic body fillers too and we are often more careless working with that than lead. John Worden gave some advice that it is fully necessary to follow when he said clean the metal of lead, paint and tinning compound back away far enough from the area you are welding that it won't affect your welds. That is something that too many of us try t.o short cut on all too often. As for filler when you get to that point, use what you are comfortable with. Lead if you decide to or a quality plastic filler that you are comfortable working with. The price of lead may dictate that though as it is pretty costly right now.
That is good advise....I've welded my panel on the back side ....more oozing. .. Piece is solid ...I'm going to make a mix of advice. ...I will smooth lead epoxy prime and finish with plastic... As always you guys have come thru.... Chop Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Well I'm screwed. I wondered what was wrong with me. I've touched a lot of lead and I've torched a lot of lead. How many of us, as a kid, have put split shot on a fishing line by biting it? 100 times for me at least. Soldering? Man I've fixed a hundred circuit boards with lead solder. I'm poisoned for sure! How the hell does Bill Hines (the lead-meister of the century) survive? I've seen him work. He's 92, he's been floating lead for probably 75 years, and his only protection is a lit stogie??? God made the man immune to lead. That's gotta be it. On a serious note, you can lead over lead, but it's tricky, especially on a vertical surface. Easier to melt it off and start fresh I believe, because it's hard to get the heat just right. Leading over old lead makes a weak un-fused lap or "cold joint" IF you do it wrong; and it's soooo easy to do wrong because it has to be molten at the surface to fuse, but not at the steel so it'll all drip off. You gotta get it to the point where it's ready to drop, and keep it there as you add lead, without getting it hotter. But the better reason, if you can lead well, is that you don't usually know what's under the existing lead unless you did it. Could be rust, poor patches, other contamination that will cause cold joints, cracks, and failure. It takes practice & patience & stuff has to be really clean. My P15 evidently has a cold joint in the previous lead. I can see it after stripping the paint. They let the lead run on a spot that was too cold or contaminated, or used the flux wrong. After saying all that, I have to say that I've never put much lead on an auto body, but I've put a lot of lead on metal just the same. Copper, steel, tin, brass, gold, silver, micro circuit boards and 6" cast iron pipe. It's all a bit different, but it's all the same in that once you "get it", that is, once you know how the metal is supposed to react, and you can get it to do so every time, it's easier than welding or brazing. Bondo has it's place IMO. Sometimes you don't wan't to strip things off that will catch fire or melt. (upholstery, trim, etc.) sometimes you don't have access to a torch. My car has a dent at the header that would have required removal of the windshield and headliner. It was bondoed by someone & I would have too.
hi all!! lots of conflicting ideas?!?!. yes and no. hard to cover in short space. 1st off. be safe! lead is toxic. gloves, respirator, cap and eye protection!! i took that for granted. forgot my pc. 1st! well done old lead should be preserved. handstrip, reprep, epoxy prime and carry on!! you cannot weld on tinned metal. strip old lead and tinning with a torch and a clean and strip. if old lead is bad, brush it off and relead area. the main reason you should not overlay the old with new is because it is very probable you will pop the existing off the original tinning. this usually shows up right now, but not always!!! blisters after paint are considered bad news!!! lead will blend into an edge because you can observe heat saturation and ensure meltin and closure, avoiding cold joints. lead is used on flat surfaces, vertical,and overhead with no problem. it ts all in heat control. a lot like flying inverted!! the aircraft does not know where the ground is and doesn't give a shit. i've known billy for years. i think and prey he is immortal. i know i'm not and i'll bet neither are you!!! protect yourself!!! finally oldsman! don't try to sell me anything!!! anybody who says mud is better than lead has no credibility with me. you are damn sure entitled to your opinion, but we will have to agree to disagree!!! if anyone is interested in this kind of build work, you can go to" spotlight on custom car builder paul bragg ".on the hamb. have a good one!!! tinguy ps sorry for long winded post!!! tryed to cover several areas!!
Important info is never long winded except to the uninterested. This is seriously interesting to me, as I'm preparing for my first serious lead bodywork on the P15. I discovered some very bad lead work, under bad bondo work, over bad sheet metal work. I've welded overhead, but never tried to lay lead overhead. But yeah, the surface tension keeps molten lead on a vertical surface until you get too big a molten puddle going or get off the flux. I've tinned enough wires to know that.
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