Leading a Seam Part 2: Adding Lead and Filing Smooth

[@pdiz]

Excellent work. Would kill to know of a body man this good. Everyone out here charges a premium for amateur work. You're worth every penny, whatever you charge.

[@RobbiRocks]

Amazing info & visual of what you're doing here, thank you.. So cool of having No annoying back ground music aswell, Cheers..

[@timeload343]

lead working is becoming a lost art. glad to see people still doing it. if you approach your hvac job like you do leading i would hire you in a minute. i would add you should be wearing a mask so you dont breath in the lead fumes or at least have a fan to blow the fumes away.

[@rodrogers6895]

Good to see somebody using lead instead of Bondo.

[@blakegriplingph]

Lead is heavy tho.

[@sweeyong7756]

Is this technique used to fill gaps? Could do the same using lead on stainless steel? Cheers

[@mistersniffer6838]

@@blakegriplingph - Yea, that 1lbs of lead could blow out your tires!!

[@jakeshughart361]

So I have a question can u use lead for half panels that r welded on

[@mistersniffer6838]

@@jakeshughart361 - absolutely!!

[@hootinouts]

I'm surprised that the joint was not prepped with flux and that the solder seemed to have adhered anyway. I am no pro but an amateur tin-knocker who likes making things and use lead solder for sheet metal fabrications. Anyhow, your work turned out beautiful and that technique of using the wooded tool with tallow is great. I will make to try this next time I am buttering up a joint with solder and want to level it nice and smooth as you did.

[@LanceisLawson]

I used lead a lot in my shop. The Eastwood 70/30 is the best by far the best body solder.

[@abdel-hadikaddourn2bricola725]

Excellent travail ,bravo

[@rancosteel]

Bill Hines would be proud.

[@hazlotumismoazucarillo3.0]

Que buen trabajo! Felicidades

[@JustinMiales]

You need a whole lot more experience than what you have, in the 60s when I was a kid I watched this old man work that stuff like it was butter

[@demogorgin]

so you compare someone doing restoration, which is mostly here and there, to someone that did this for a living on damn near every car off the line? since you obviously cant do it yourself, hence the " i watched this old man work it", your age has clouded your thinking old man.

[@jraposo911]

Nice work 👍 JR in 🇨🇦

[@fredyorke9952]

Hi you need a larger block for that area Im old school panel beater from the 60,s when lead was used more than filler if you make yourself a block about 6x 4 from close grain wood and use more talo fat on your block it will give you a better finish do not burn your block it puts grooves into it ,but good start from you

[@mphRagnarok]

I have to admit it looked like you were completely clueless and making a huge pile of mess at the beginning but it turned out really good in the end.

[@zagyex]

yeah I was pretty much shocked seeing the result. Awesome job.

[@hotroddinlogan1043]

We are doing this to my 1968 Plymouth Road Runner

[@19CD91]

Nice job.

[@ric0000]

Thanks!

[@joesgarage9953]

Thank you

[@jeremybanks719]

Was looking to see about all I'm a need, hmm that tin flux / butter you call it looks just like oatey #.05 or #.95. One is brownish acid flux and the other is grayish acid cleaning tinning flux. I've used both when I used to do new construction plumbing. Really liked the tinning flux. Only needed a super thin film of either and the soldier would flow like water. I got a couple of rust holes in a fender I'm bout to use . Ones on car now is sad shape. Figured that previous owner did a crappy bondo patch n paint n not 3 years later it's worse than before, I'll spot weld metal behind the panel n lead it smooth. Water tight both sides so it don't rust. Plus side I don't think the lead will soak up primer like bondo does.

[@fortitudevalance8424]

I used lead, sometimes zinc, with a MAP blowtorch. Lead is much more stable metal than zinc but the latter has the best corrosion protection.

[@lordmmx1303]

Will this help protecting against rust on that welded spot? I need to fix up non structural parts of my car, by replacing rusted zones and i need to protect it somehow for as long as possible

[@MitchHines-or6cj]

Oh man just came across this and I know it’s an old video but man you gotta tin that whole surface before piling it in there like that.

[@firstnationsindian8062]

At Fisher 1 Plant, the body dept used automatic transmission fluid to load the paddles. Also the lead sticks were longer. Some of the guys would melt two sticks together before leading. They didn't want to stop in the middle of heating a seam. You had 3 minutes and most of the time had to walk 40 feet with the car moving down the line. Tuff job.

[@getoffenit7827]

Have you ever used a product called 'Pal-Weld' its a soldering powder. I bought it thinking it was tinning butter...which is what i want.. Ive never seen 'tinning powder' i tried it on some sheet metal but it didnt work. Am i supposed to add something to it to make it a paste/butter?

[@freekvancauwenberghe6266]

i feel like you're not heating the tinned metal enough, it should get shiny,... i don't think the lead will be fused enough with the tin (ofcourse working upright is difficult in leading as it tends to drop... therefor starting on the bottom is also better as you can use the previous layed lead to act as a support for the lead that follows.

[@timeload343]

can you remelt all those shavings into a reuseable stick?

[@hootinouts]

Most definitely. You can melt solder over and over and over.

[@mistersniffer6838]

As long as you collect them on a clean cloth or plastic. If not, your gonna be melting dirt with it. Should float to the top when melting as a scum layer, but, collect as clean as you can.

[@garywheeler1812]

Work it work it work it

[@thefiathospital]

are you using a 50/50 or 70/30 rod?

[@marcuswhite1403]

Will a proprane torch work to melt the lead

[@johnswinkels2979]

Witch compositie lead do you use

[@shanepettipas7100]

Whats the part number or make of tgat torch?

[@jasoneverley8164]

Man that seems really hot, no warping?

[@backroom12]

How much is a going rate for an experienced guy to do this ? Per side

[@abdel-hadikaddourn2bricola725]

Svp , esq la peinture noire exposé sûr le soleil ne fait pas de problème ??????

[@thomasstott527]

lead work is a lost art.. we have been using different methods for that exact joint for years... all metal was the go to for years... here in florida on a hot day you can see the area... we decided to lead in one high end build ... and you can also see the lead joint on hot day... so i will play it safe and not use lead lol...

[@RyanShort-oz5lq]

Wouldn't dousing so much water into that seam make for future failure?

[@robbocop33r12]

I was planning on using this technique to solder in little repair patches on non structural area of a wheel arch,but the heat of that torch would obviously blister all the surrounding paintwork,i want to keep my repair to a small area. What wattage of soldering iron would i need to do this?

[@Blueagle8u]

Really need to be wearing a mask!!! ( I ‘m a Retired Plumber!)

[@TOMBSTONESTAN]

I'd love to see the 1970 assembly line leaders in action.Amazing, would mapp gas be suitable for leading?

[@roberthumphries2730]

Hold lead with pliers, won't burn fingers. Just a suggestion

[@johnswinkels2979]

I prefer first put on leadpasta with a brush then heat it and whipe it with a cloth

[@stevenpayne1138]

Wasn't tinned or tinned enough

[@MitchHines-or6cj]

He didn’t tin it at all! 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@darrininverarity4297]

Tinning is brushed on before hitting it with the lead to make it stick.

[@welllsaiddddd]

no tinning ?

[@5.56Chronicles]

Part 1 he tinned.

[@chrisproctor1411]

I didn't know that lead was legal to use in doing body work

[@demogorgin]

that roof to sail panel is always leaded at the factory on the older cars

[@angusmurray3767]

Thick leading like this is a waste of time and money. There are two reasons for using lead. One is to prevent water reaching the paint and it's prep layers from a spot-welded seam and the other is to provide added strength to a thin edge that needs to be filled. Lead vapour and dust is highly toxic and so it should be used as little as possible. A spot welded seam should have a lead layer confined purely to the seam in order to seal it. Body filler should then be used to make up deficiencies in shape. This saves time, money and reduces breathing in toxic material to a minimum as high areas of lead can be finished with a body file, avoiding the dust that comes from sanding.

[@cll_sr]

i think, it will be better if you had used a mask. And why didn't you use a flux or tin paste ?

[@bender49ers]

Why can't this area just be welded instead?

[@camillosteuss]

in essence it could, but welding as great as it is, is not the end all solution... Welded parts like that would require as much time as this did, but would offer much much more trouble in not warping the panels... Welded areas are also if not tempered - hardened and a stress point that is more brittle than the rest of the panels that the weld binds and blends... In a case of a crash or any damage, welded panels will transfer much more force into other panels, potentially damaging them, and if not, the welded area is now a large surface that actually requires a cutting instrument to take out the damaged panel, and while so doing, damaging the edge of undamaged panel that was consumed in welding, making a repair more difficult... But yeah, sure, you could weld it or even silver or bronze braze it, just like this is kind of a lead soldering or brazing(there be some differences between the two, but immaterial in this explanation)... Also, maybe the panels are steel and aluminum for the roof to make it lighter, making them unweldable but still brazable... Its like screws and rivets, some you use here, some you do there, some can go everywhere...

[@bender49ers]

@@camillosteuss thank you for educating me. I am restoring a 73 barracuda and always wondered why they soldered that seam.

[@camillosteuss]

@@bender49ers I am glad to be of service, for one does not spend decades reading and ennobling ones archives to keep it to himself... Its like a fungus, I am infected with the fungus of learned and it spreads its spores where i go... Tho, i myself didnt ever consider this method before, i just understand it as i do welding, brazing and soldering along with other metalwork, so i see why this is done the way it is, but yeah, you probably know about leading the seams for longer than i do, you just didnt have the archive of metalwork long learned before it... Also, glad to hear that you are restoring a classic, as i too have long been leaning toward getting an oldtimer and restoring it into a grand state that it deserves...

[@robertcampbell5485]

Wtf nonsense are you writing on here? A welded seem is far greater then leading it. That’s why nobody does it anymore. Not to mention the health risk. Sanding body filler all the time is bad enough, now let’s add working with lead on a regular basis, moron.

[@brainwashingdetergent4128]

@@bender49ers dude told you a pile of shit they didn't have much safety standards back then this has absolutely nothing to do with safety. The lead is filler only like bondo. The panels are spot welded together if you look closely in the video you will see. You dont weld the entire panel because its too hot it will warp the roof and quarter panel. Spot weld the roof to quarter and use lead to fill the seam thats how the factory did it. He is doing this because its what the factory did and he wants factory specs.

[@rayclark9643]

Yikes lead fumes with no PPE what's your malfunction guy???

[@mikehuang1369]

The carelessness of inhaling lead fumes and lead dust is mind boggling.

[@MitchHines-or6cj]

My grandfather Bill Hines “the Leadslinger” used lead on a daily. He lived to be 94 years old.

[@VegaSpydr]

"This is getting a vinyl top, and I don't care." I hope this is your own vehicle and not for a customer...

[@ric0000]

Yes it is ours, Joe just doesn't want body filler under the top.

[@reidgilker4473]

Use 'metal to metal' or as we call it "metalux",, that ole lead will kill ya with the fumes

[@daveatherton7744]

Please don’t have any welding videos you forgot about any fluxes it would stick and flo way nicer and wouldn’t have to grind so much

[@michaelsursa1487]

Why dont you wear some gloves?

[@jamesward5721]

"Downside" is this process is so crap for your health it's not right. The lead vapours mess with your head, you end up with lead dust everywhere & it's just generally such a crappy process health wise.. lead filings end up everywhere, lead is bad, blah blah - I just don't go near this as a process any more. It's a bad relic. Fiberglass fillers do the same job - they too aren't exactly a day at the vitamin bar, but compared to messing with lead, they're ok by me. Let's not do lead loading... Thank me later..

[@isamgasal.1173]

Zero safety no ppe

[@theeflea03]

And then people wonder why they get neurological diseases in their 60s

[@troyswindell2513]

Jj

[@oldz70]

is that a factory panel or reproduction?