Lead auto-body work. Anybody done it?

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Short version questions: Will common soldering fluxes leach and prevent paint from adhering?Will trapped non-acid fluxes corrode the original metal? Long story:I don't particularly want to learn a new trade, but I think I'm going to try it, just wonder if anyone here has been there.Background - I have an old  car that is absolutely rust-free and straight... But there's just one small problem it was hit from behind and needs a rear quarter panel. Oh, and now would probably be a good time to fix that brake light switch too!  I found a very clean donor with a nice quarter panel, but it has one off the wall rust out spot where water had puddled.The facts - Heavy work Body Man A is going to pull the damage and  install the quarter, but I need to get the replacement prepared. I want to clean up and solder the small rust-out spot. I'm sure I can handle that part. Body Finish Man B is not too crazy about finishing lead. He says that soldering flux is next to impossible to keep from leaching out and lifting paint. He seems to think that residue from common soldering fluxes, when trapped under the paint, will start to corrode the car's original metal. But he says he will deal with the lead, at my risk.The questions - What kind of flux is used for auto-body work that will be painted??How about the technique? I plan on cleaning out the rust, tinning, and then soldering with lead bar. Does that sound right?Thanks
Reply:I'm not an auto body worker and have never done lead work on a car, but I do know that tinning steel can be the difficult part. Pure lead doesn't bond to steel but lead-tin alloys will, as I think pure tin does (maybe better too). If you can grind, or sand through the rust until you get clean metal, you may need nothing more than rosin as a flux. I would refrain from using flux containing zinc chloride , if possible, but if you need to, be sure not to allow any pockets to form which could trap any inside. I think any good solvent like acetone will dissolve the oily fraction of the flux, and ammonia would neutralize any remaining zinc chloride.I would practice on some spare sheet metal from the donor vehicle, if possible. You may find that you need to sand after grinding, or perhaps use a power steel or stainless steel brush, to get a clean-enough surface for it to wet well.Before doing this, I would also suggest you wait for someone with more experience in this process to tell you if I'm far off with any of this advice.    If you get a good bond with the lead, you should not have any trapped flux of either kind. The acid-type would cause rust, if any remained in pores. Rosin types would just be like small, brittle inclusions which could break out. I don't think any borates are used for this low temp. work. and can't think of any other right now.Last edited by Oldiron2; 04-06-2009 at 12:57 AM.
Reply:You mean "Body Solder"?,you can get it at Eastwoods but if you shop around you can get a good price on it all separately, you will need any solder that you can solder electronics with for tinning, you have to tin before using body solder, so tin with anything that is free of lead, don't use solder paste for copper pipe soldering, but you can use rosin core solder for tinning the sheet metal.If you use this for tinning you can skip other tinning steps and go straight to soldering by melting the solder on the car and wiping excess off with rag until area is well covered, watch your heat and use only where their is strengh otherwise you will get warping and when you try to fill it it may travel.You need for best results (also available at eastwoods as a kit):1)Body File - for filing lead and all pick and file body work indicate high and low spots, a must have for bodywork2)Acetylene/Air Solder tip:Uses Acetylene and slips over your O/A brazing tip to mix a neutral flame for solder work, not absolutely necessary, you can use large brazing tip but results are better because you cannot see temp change and you will not boil/pit solder, solder elasticizes like welding aluminum and this tip spreads heat around better.3)Tallow or Lard for Lubrication of paddles.You have to keep paddle wet with tallow.4)A hardwood maple paddle.5)Lead free solder bars.1lb each6)Ammonia7)Rosin core solder or silver solder to tin with-you do not need tinning butter.The reason you buy ammonia is to neutralize the stuff in solder and make primer and bondo adhere properly.I am not a chemist but do that flux comes from tree sap and basically promotes good adhesion at a lower temperature.From what you have to say if your bodyman does not want to deal with lead have him rough out all the bodywork and then do it all yourself.I do not know of any situation where lead(solder) has ruined paint. In fact using solder is better because you can always rework the bodywork with a pick hammer then file it with body file whereas bondo cannot be worked because it will crack.If your bodyman does not want to use lead it may be because he cannot work with it.Did you ever hear of anyones electronics rusting?No Well neither will your rust repair.Not many shops like working with it.Before I went into bodywork in the 1980's I took my truck to a shop and specifically had them do work with lead, and paid for it and it worked out that I became a bodyman for that shop as I rotated through a few shops and refinished my truck in the evenings to find they did not use solder but used bondo!The thing is where you have seems or wheelwells stopping future rusting or paint chipping by using body solder is the way to go, it will last forever, don't worry about flux leaching, if you finish the lead by sandpaper and clean it with ammonia and degreaser it will be Ok.Post your pics when you are done,Ok.Last edited by pistolnoon; 04-06-2009 at 02:22 AM.
Reply:http://www.autoshop101.ca/autobody/leadloading.htmhttp://www.automedia.com/Getting_the...es20041001ld/1http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...roductID=16403  Notice the picture showing the wooden paddle to shape/spread/smooth the softened lead.http://www.tptools.com/p/493,201_Aut...andSolder.htmlThere are also lead-free body solders available.Another solder manufacturer is listed as www.johnsonmfg.comYup, the general process is to clean, tin, then solder.  As usual, the devil is in the details.  Hey, want to old-school on the process?  Get (you seem to be the garage-sale king of old tool 'stuff'  ) some old-school "soldering irons" of the chunk-of-copper-on-a-handle-to-heat-in-a-fire-and-then-use-to-apply-heat-to-sheetmetal variety.  Somewhere one of the quick google search hits mentioned something about that, the copper chunks were mentioned as about one to four pounds of copper.  Heat in fire, apply to sheetmetal, solder.  Bigger irons had more thermal mass and would let the worker do more before the iron had to be reheated in the fire.No rust, in the Detroit area?    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:how big a hole are you filling?  It seems common around here to use bronze rod and braze.  Easy to clean up, paint seems to stick well, wont rust again, is harder than lead.Heve done a bit of it myself over time, but the standout one was repairing a rear window channel that had a lot of small rust holes, some nearly 1"/25mm after clean up.  Common problem in this older car.  The car war around for another 7 years and no sign of that rust comming back.
Reply:Used to use a flux called Ruby Fluid.  You would warm the panel with a torch and spray the flux on warm the panel till you could take the bar solder and use the edge like a pencil and melt some lines on to the panel.  All the time playing with the torch to keep the panel and solder warm.  Then a clean rag would wipe the panel and tin out the spot.  Once tinned you would rewarm the panel and warm your solder.  The tinned spot will shine and look semi wet and you are ready to try to get your solder to a mushy state and stick to your panel.  You are still playing with the heat you keep it at a semi fluid state and if stays on the panel you then take your paddle and warm it and dip in in a tray of bee's wax and start to work it.Like icing a cake.  Can be fun and frustrating at the same time.Charlie
Reply:Originally Posted by 59halfstepUsed to use a flux called Ruby Fluid.. . .
Reply:Ya for window channel use bronze for sure, and tig it in, if you can get behind the repair panel, well mig it in grind it some and then have someone hold the torch and hot forge it in with hammer and dolly, pick and file to suit.I know sometimes people can be picky but if you ever saw the inside of limo or some hot rods you'd be amazed how much filler is used.
Reply:Denrep - I can't remember the products that the painter would use to prep for painting and cleaning of leaded area.  Prep-Sol (sp) that is from a poor memory, was one product.  Metal prep of some sorts.  I know he would also wash with straight enamel reducer on a clean rag.  It can be done and the paint stick.  Hell it was done in the factory all those years on the quarter sail panels.  In my situation, the painter did his own prep work, so I don't remember his products and procedures.  Lead was coming out of fashion in the early 70's.If you really want a bone shuddering scare,  there was an old tool that was made to spray lead on a panel with compressed air!    There was a pot that was fed with acetylene and oxy where it would melt the lead stick pieces and was hooked up to an air line.  There was a spray head and you would spray hot lead on a tinned and warmed panel.  It would lay an even coat on like a paint  gun.  I would also leave a dusting of lead over the whole shop.  I did a small search and couldn't find anything on it.  Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of them or better yet a picture?  I will research it a bit better later.  I have seen it work a couple of times.  I remember the old timer with a bandanna tied over his nose and mouth.  I am sure OSHA would have a few regs about this tool.This may explain old body men a bit better.Charlie
Reply:Charlie,The lead was bad from a health standpoint, but I think all the solvents were a bit of an issue as well.  denrep,Is that a coat hanger or baling wire holding the exhaust pipe up?    OK, you asked for no laughing, so how about  instead.  If your problem is that the cars you keep getting are too nice to cut up as parts cars, then stop getting all the nice cars!    If you just need the rear quarter panel, find a donor that wrecked the front-end.  Maybe it T-boned something, split in half on the front from a head-on into a telephone pole or sign post or bridge embankment, that sort of thing.  Then you won't feel bad about cutting it up.Sheesh, complaining about finding too many nice old cars.  Some people!  BTW, how's the BossHog Caddy with the steer horns doing?    Last I remember seeing your pictures of it, it was getting the custom bumper wrap or such.    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Good stuff.  I was shown how to lead a panel in Body Shop in 1978.   Nuttin since.   If that car was from around here, the frame would be rotted from the salt. watch yer puddle  DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:All I have found on the old spray gun system is this from the 50's.  I am still looking.  Anyone else ever heard of a lead spray gun?http://www.carrepair-1950.com/soldering.htmCharlie
Reply:DENREP....WHERE'S YOUR SENSE OF ADVENTURE??Personally I prefer Bondo.  When it falls offa the side of the car it's DRAMATICThis little slice of history fell of the truck somewhere between Salinas and McPherson Kansas on I-35 Southbound around 10yrs ago.  It'd been on the truck for maybe 13yrs prior.  That's a pretty good run for the moneyOne of these days I'll get around to slappin' another can o' goo on it.If I could find a way for clay to stick, I'd slap some on there and turn it into a Chia Truck  (Ya know.....them things with the grass growin' outta their heads) Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by 59halfstepThere was a spray head and you would spray hot lead on a tinned and warmed panel. It would lay an even coat on like a paint gun. I would also leave a dusting of lead over the whole shop.... . .This may explain old body men a bit better.
Reply:Great stuff! Nice to see the pics and someone folow through.Don't worry about paint lifting.You can finish with sandpaper, also if you find trouble getting a good feather edge use some of the new urethane 3+1  type polyester primers, they fill incredible scratches and dents.Take a can of black spraypaint and give the primer a quick dusting it make the imperfections appear better... it's the old bodyman inme wanting to try some of that again!
Reply:That looks pretty darn good.I remember reading/seeing a thing about the production lines.  Used to be guys that did the lead repair on the dings.  Used to be common.  I don't know if it's still done today.I often wonder about the bead that goes between the rain gutter, and the body, on older cars.  Seems that it was probably leaded.Working with lead is pretty unsafe(a note to you reloaders out there that cast wadcutters), but I imagine it's not too bad in the short term.  Can't be worse than goin' thru 2 1/2 packs of cigarettes a day.Next time around, promise Alfred a dozen donuts to do the work, and go out and play with the pup.If Alfred suffers short term memory loss, ain't a big thing.  Might be a good thing.  Lil' dude won't be constantly remindin' ya of yer last pecadillo."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Just looking at your work, the lead work is good but you really should be making a patch to replace the rusted metal then fill with lead like you would bondo,a butt weld still looks good from the inside but your best bet is to make a patch out of old sheet metal and use a ball pean hammer for backing and lap weld it in, undercoast fron inside for rust protection, seal the wheel well joint with brushable seam sealer, then undercoat lightly.
Reply:a long  thin bit of wood dipped in clean motor oil makes a good lead trowl.  leaves a nicer surface and wont stick. doesnt contaminate the lead deposit. i use a O/A torch with a very soft flame and torch not too close.
Reply:I read just read through the lead-links posted by MoonRise and 59Halfstep - Very informative. Thanks for posting 'em.Now that I've thought about it, I remember seeing a process demonstrated that sprayed a metal build-up to rusted panels, but I don't think that process was a lead spray. Pistolnoon - I'll explain why I wanted to avoid cutting, welding, patching, and hammering. This was one very small rust hole in an otherwise very solid and straight panel. The rust-out was at an area  where the skirt meets the body, and the panel's original height, complex shape, and edge is mirrored in the skirt. To look right, the repair's height, corner radius, and profile must match the original panel and skirt exactly, otherwise a poor match-up is a dead giveaway of  repair work.     I'm sure there is an expert tin-pecker somewhere, who could have hammered out the complex shape and welded it in to exactly match the original height and profile. Unfortunately, he's not on this job. I've only ever met two such talented  tinmen, and sorry to say, they've both gone to the great body-shop in the sky. So in reply, the reason I chose to use the lead repair without a welded patch, was to save the panel's original edge shape and sharp die-line. Hopefully, for a car that will no longer be exposed to the rigors of normal use, it will be long lasting repair.Thanks again, for all the input  Last edited by denrep; 04-08-2009 at 05:19 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepI read just read through the lead-links posted by MoonRise and 59Halfstep - Now that I've thought about it, I remember seeing a process demonstrated that sprayed a metal build-up to rusted panels, but I don't think that process was a lead spray. :
Reply:Your work looks good, not many pick it up so fast, keep at it.
Reply:I've done lead  work for many years. Not on a daily basis, but on a project by project basis. I now use All Metal filler.I did have some old outboard Packard style headlight shells metal sprayed years ago because they were brass and the last shop to re plate them sanded them way too thin at the back of the bullet shape. So, they were reinforced by metal spray on the inside before the next round of plating. (The old butterfly style hood had dented them.) The process is feeding metal rod into a welding flame and moving it to the surface with a stream of air. It takes a special "gun" (obviously) to do this. The metal used for this is brass because the plating tanks will the lead and pot metal.  If all I needed was lead, I think I could flow it in anywhere but overhead. And, I think this is where the old steel wool trick got started except one would use lead wool to stuff into a blind opening before applying lead filler.The real trouble with that is not knowing if the rust is completely eradicated. Only acid dipping will ensure that and most restorers won't go that route. They'll pull the panel apart instead.
Reply:Originally Posted by zeke And, I think this is where the old steel wool trick got started except one would use lead wool to stuff into a blind opening before applying lead filler.The real trouble with that is not knowing if the rust is completely eradicated. Only acid dipping will ensure that and most restorers won't go that route. They'll pull the panel apart instead.
Reply:Well the lead study wasn't a complete waste, because I was able to parlay the experience into helping with the lead during the repair of two fenders. I wasn't entrusted with the patch, finish, or paint work, just the lead. In fact I was shooed away once the lead was done. Filled some holes that had been used to mount an engine-size boasting emblem, which is not used on this model:Attachment 34783The fender's style line wasn't right:Attachment 34785With some grinding, a previous plastic-filled repair was uncovered.I made some paper templates of the proper profile from a known correct fender.Body man A reworked the fender so it would match the templates.He said he never heard of working with templates before, and didn't need 'em; guess he's got a good eye.Attachment 34786I put the lead to it. On the backside, I soldered up some pin holes in the fender's support bracket.Body man A finished the repair.New noisy tools and people bear watching. Attachment 34787"Sooner or later, your gonna have to put that noisy shaking thing down."  Body man A painted the fenders:Attachment 34788Also, the back side of the repair area was sealed with body sealer.Anyway, after no one is looking, to supplement the factory water drains, I'm going to drill some more drain holes; at the bottom!   Last edited by denrep; 10-19-2010 at 11:39 PM.
Reply:Looks better than good; now I might have to go back and reread the whole thread, then get some damaged fenders to practice on.....but the 'cots are starting to get ripe, so the lead will have to wait a while, like everything else.Originally Posted by pistolnoonYou mean "Body Solder"?,you can get it at Eastwoods but if you shop around you can get a good price on it all separately, you will need any solder that you can solder electronics with for tinning, you have to tin before using body solder, so tin with anything that is free of lead, don't use solder paste for copper pipe soldering, but you can use rosin core solder for tinning the sheet metal.If you use this for tinning you can skip other tinning steps and go straight to soldering by melting the solder on the car and wiping excess off with rag until area is well covered, watch your heat and use only where their is strengh otherwise you will get warping and when you try to fill it it may travel.You need for best results (also available at eastwoods as a kit):1)Body File - for filing lead and all pick and file body work indicate high and low spots, a must have for bodywork2)Acetylene/Air Solder tip:Uses Acetylene and slips over your O/A brazing tip to mix a neutral flame for solder work, not absolutely necessary, you can use large brazing tip but results are better because you cannot see temp change and you will not boil/pit solder, solder elasticizes like welding aluminum and this tip spreads heat around better.3)Tallow or Lard for Lubrication of paddles.You have to keep paddle wet with tallow.4)A hardwood maple paddle.5)Lead free solder bars.1lb each6)Ammonia7)Rosin core solder or silver solder to tin with-you do not need tinning butter.The reason you buy ammonia is to neutralize the stuff in solder and make primer and bondo adhere properly.I am not a chemist but do that flux comes from tree sap and basically promotes good adhesion at a lower temperature.From what you have to say if your bodyman does not want to deal with lead have him rough out all the bodywork and then do it all yourself.I do not know of any situation where lead(solder) has ruined paint. In fact using solder is better because you can always rework the bodywork with a pick hammer then file it with body file whereas bondo cannot be worked because it will crack.If your bodyman does not want to use lead it may be because he cannot work with it.Did you ever hear of anyones electronics rusting?No Well neither will your rust repair.Not many shops like working with it.Before I went into bodywork in the 1980's I took my truck to a shop and specifically had them do work with lead, and paid for it and it worked out that I became a bodyman for that shop as I rotated through a few shops and refinished my truck in the evenings to find they did not use solder but used bondo!The thing is where you have seems or wheelwells stopping future rusting or paint chipping by using body solder is the way to go, it will last forever, don't worry about flux leaching, if you finish the lead by sandpaper and clean it with ammonia and degreaser it will be Ok.Post your pics when you are done,Ok.
Reply:Gettin' one step closer to cruising down the streets of BakersfieldTell Alfred to wear his goggles when the top's down.  (Ok, I admit it, I didn't look to see if this was a ragtop)"Good Fellows" brings back my fondest memories of the old Caddies.How can ya be a good, upright, well equiped, gangster these days??????Crappy little foreign cars don't have squat for the much needed trunk spaceAnd where ya gonna put the two bags of lime???  On the hood????"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Wish I had paid closer attention a few years back.   I was in a shop in south Atlanta GA. that all they restored was 40's FORDS.  I do mean restored right down to the proper FOMOCO #'s on the fan belts on those old flatheads.  In fact at least 2 of his autos were in the movie "Driving Miss Daisy" One of them was the 40 Ford Pick Up that drove across the parking lot of the "PigglyWiggly" There was an older gentleman there that could chew on the stump of a cigar in one corner of his mouth talk out the other all the while applying lead so delicately it hardly needed forming.I remember thinking at the time he had to be 1 in a million people that could still run lead to auto body without warping the metal.IF IT WORKS, DON'T FIX IT2 Lincoln CV-300 / LN-7 GMALinde-VI 253,400 & 450 w/MIG35 feedersCNC Table with Oxweld O/A & Hypertherm 1250G3Lincoln Ranger GXT 250Hobart-MicroWire 300ESAB Heliarc 161ESAB-Mobilemaster 2 CC/CV Feeders& more
Reply:We may be getting closer to reaching my level of incompetance. Picked these body-solder tools up at a swap meet:Attachment 36125I also picked up some valuable knowledge from an experienced lead-hand. Originally Posted by 59halfstep . . .there was an old tool that was made to spray lead on a panel with compressed air!    There was a pot that was fed with acetylene and oxy where it would melt the lead stick pieces and was hooked up to an air line.  There was a spray head and you would spray hot lead on a tinned and warmed panel.  It would lay an even coat on like a paint  gun.  I would also leave a dusting of lead over the whole shop.  I did a small search and couldn't find anything on it.  Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of them or better yet a picture?  I will research it a bit better later.  I have seen it work a couple of times.  I remember the old timer with a bandanna tied over his nose and mouth. . . .
Reply:If you do find one I will bet dollars to doughnuts that OSHA has agents with a "stake out" waiting for someone to fire up that unit.   Keep us posted, and if you need bail money we should be able to raise it.Charlie
Reply:Originally Posted by denrep. . .I learned that the lead-spray gun that 59halfstep described worked VERY well, and was built by the Holmes Company of Chattanooga, the same folks who built truck-mounted wrecker equipment. . . .
Reply:Hi,I am new here.Regarding the question on lead .I saw something about spraying lead.I worked at a local body shop when I was a teenager .The owner had a lead sprayer and I thought it was the neatest thing I had ever seen.It sprayed lead like putting on primer.That was about fifty years ago and I have never seen one since.Guess what!! I just aquired one from the estate of a friend of mine who restored classic,vintage cars.The name on it is kwik spray solder gun.I can't find anything on it anywhere.I probably will never use it,so if anyone is interested,lets talk.I have no idea what it's worth.Anyone out there able to give me an idea of a fair price?Thanks.Best regards,grandpa Marc
Reply:Originally Posted by grandpa MarcHi,I am new here.Regarding the question on lead .I saw something about spraying lead.I worked at a local body shop when I was a teenager .The owner had a lead sprayer and I thought it was the neatest thing I had ever seen.It sprayed lead like putting on primer.That was about fifty years ago and I have never seen one since.Guess what!! I just aquired one from the estate of a friend of mine who restored classic,vintage cars.The name on it is kwik spray solder gun.I can't find anything on it anywhere.I probably will never use it,so if anyone is interested,lets talk.I have no idea what it's worth.Anyone out there able to give me an idea of a fair price?Thanks.Best regards,grandpa Marc
Reply:Howdy and welcome Grandpa Mac, You guys ever get to feeling like a fish in a barrel...With Grandpa Mac fondling the shotgun?  By the way, I messed with body solder a few more times since this thread. And I've studied about every soldered seam and repair that I've seen. I'm glad I started on the learning curve and I sort of got the hang of warming the panel and working the solder at its critical plastic state, but I'd sure like to see an old hand "smear some lead" one time. As tough as it is to hit the right temperature for tinning and bonding, I sure wonder how a  "gun" can shoot hot lead at a panel and make it stick. I'm guessing that the panel must first be cleaned warmed and tinned.Grandpa Mac - At the body shop  did you work solder too, or just beat on the delivery truck? I've gathered a few more supplies here and there:Attachment 56812Here's a few pics from my solder job of filling extra holes that had been drilled in a panel for presidential inauguration medals  - or something like that.Attachment 56813And my first and only rough-in finish job:Attachment 56814Good LuckLast edited by denrep; 10-19-2010 at 11:48 PM.
Reply:This idea od spraying body solder has me intrigued, so I've had a look around and it must be the time of year for it.If you look at the following link, there's a bit of discussion about it and a picture of the gun. I've borrowed the picture and let's see if it worked!It didn't! So, the easiest thing will be to follow the link:http://www.canadianrodder.com/forum/...0246#post90246There's also a bit of info at:http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...=520270&page=2"One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375
Reply:Good link 'Pack!Somehow we're gonna have to land one of these.How do I get "Solderer" under my screen name? Attachment 56871Attachment 56872Pictures boldly pilfered from: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=520270Last edited by denrep; 10-19-2010 at 11:48 PM.
Reply:Is it lead that the machine sprays ot is it some other formulation of body solder?Solder is really good for wheel wells, the only way to do it right.I feel guilty every time I have to use filler in a wheel well. I never like using body filler in those areas.I bought a resistance spot welder, and now have to find the proper tongs for inside fender lips.
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepGood link 'Pack!Somehow we're gonna have to land one of these.How do I get "Solderer" under my screen name? Pictures boldly pilfered from: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=520270
Reply:Here's a link with some more info.I like the part about spraying onto a glazed area of solder where you treat it with liquid mercury.http://www.carrepair-1950.com/soldering.htm"One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375
Reply:I remember my father telling me that if you've got a large hole to "fill" then you can use the old type of screen door mesh which I think used to be a zinc mesh. When ready, the solder takes to the mesh quite readily.This would have been for car body repairs just after WW2 in the UK."One of the things we have to be thankful for is that we don't get as much government as we pay for." (Charles Kettering)Mitch 180 (NZ)Lincoln SAM-400-220 + ?-400 Fordson Major + 2 x Tractapac Humber 80 + Procut 40 PlasmaMiller Spectrum 375
Reply:Hi denrep,  nice old ride.  You're past it now and all looks aok.  For the future or other young guys thinkin' about lead.  Old Hot Rod and Rod & Custom magazines from mid 50's have numerous "how to"  articles on using lead to work body panels.  Peterson publishing probably has an index somewhere with what article is in what issue.  This lead thing is addictive, next thing you know you'll decide to ~shave the nose~ and chop the top, and drop it 2". Where is George Barris when U need him?    I like lead sleds, course... I like duck tails and rock a billy tooLincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I'm sure you could make one, if you had a good look at one,I mean their had to be a prototype, and probably is a patent drawing online.But you'd really want to have one to do that.
Reply:Owned by Billy Gibbons, guitarist for ZZ top.  Just a little Caddy coupe with some lead.   ~~~ CadZilla ~~~  Attached ImagesLincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools