selected Eastwood’s Deluxe Body Solder Kit #31126, which contains everything I need to make this repair. Items found in the kit include lead bars, body file, tinning butter, tallow for protecting the wooden paddles, wooden paddles, and tinning brushes. Items not found in the kit but still needed include 3M P100 respirator #7183, eye protection, #00 steel wool, baking soda, and heavy gloves and a torch (not shown). I prefer a plumber’s propane torch for lead-working because it supplies plenty of heat and is easy to handle.
Lead-working any panel begins by cleaning the repair area of all the old paint. I elect to grind away the old paint using a Norton 40-grit disc #23606 on a grinder. It quickly removes the old paint and leaves the metal extremely smooth with no deep grinder marks. I grind at least 6 inches past the repair area to give myself plenty of room to apply the lead.
Once the paint has been removed, the next step is to apply a coat of tin to the metal. Because lead does not stick to bare metal, the tin acts as a flux to get the lead to adhere. I start by generously painting the repair area with the tinning butter and applying it using the tinning brushes provided in the kit.
PHOTO 5: The arrows point to the row of fender attachment bolts. These, plus the two vertically mounted bolts at the front of the core support, must be loosened before the fender can be adjusted.
PHOTO 6: Once the left fender was removed, the problem became apparent: too much metal on this lip. I marked the area of metal to be removed and ground it away. This will let the fender sit lower on the cowl and correct the fit.
PHOTO 7: The Eastwood Deluxe Body Solder Kit #31126. What you get: lead bars, tinning butter, tallow, lead-working paddles, body file, tinning brushes, and an instructional video. You add the rest.
PHOTO 8: A layer of tinning butter is applied to the bare metal. Lead won’t stick to an untinned surface.
PHOTO 9: The tinning butter is heated. A caramel colored film will develop over the surface as it is heated. Use the #00 steel wool to wipe away the film and expose the bright tin beneath.
PHOTO 10: The lead bar is heated to a point at which it is almost melted. At that point, the bar is pushed into the warmed tin.
TIP
If the panel you’re working on has small bits of old paint trapped in the dents where the sanding disc can’t reach, try heating the trapped paint with a propane torch; once they char, use a wire brush to remove the specks.
After coating the repair area, I heat the tinning butter with the propane torch to form a layer of tin over the steel. Tinning butter is gray in color when applied, but after heating it begins to melt, and as it does a caramel-colored film develops over the surface. This film must be removed, and to do so I use #00 steel wool to wipe away the film and expose the bright tinned surface beneath.
Once the tin has been applied, the next step is to apply the lead. Applying the lead is a simple matter of warming the repair area with the torch while concentrating most of the heat on the lead bar. Hot lead, like everything else liquid, reacts quickly to the forces of gravity; I want to apply the warm lead above the dent so it can work its way down into the dent. I heat the bar until it just begins to melt, then push the heated end into the warmed tin, much like snuffing out a cigarette. I allow the bar to melt and separate, leaving a clump of lead on the repair. This process is repeated several times as I work to form a very lumpy buildup of lead.
Once the lead has been applied, it must be smoothed using a wooden paddle. Notice that in photo 11, my wooden paddle has become charred on the working end. The tallow provided in the kit should be applied to the paddle to prevent it from burning when it comes in contact with the hot lead, but it won’t prevent the paddle from charring under the heat of the torch. A little extra tallow on the top of the paddle will reduce this charring as well as lengthen the life of the paddle.
The process of leveling hot lead with the wooden paddle is not unlike spreading warm butter over a slice of bread. Too much heat, and the butter (lead) just melts and runs off. Not enough heat, and the butter (lead) tends to clump and become lumpy. But apply just enough heat, and the lead moves to where you want it and immediately skims over to hold itself in place once the heat is removed. The tallow also helps in this cooling process, so don’t be afraid to use it generously on the paddle.
TIP
It may be necessary to file the repair smooth, then apply additional lead to fill any low areas.
PHOTO 11: A wooden paddle is used to level the hot lead and smooth the repair area. Before use, the paddle was dipped into the melted tallow to form a protective heat barrier to prevent the paddle from burning.
Once leveled using heat and a paddle, the lead repair can be refined using the body file provided in the kit. How about an old body-man’s trick? In photo 12, notice that the center of the file blade has been raised off the base of the file. I loosened one end of the blade and slipped a ¼-inch nut between the blade and the base. This acts to curve the blade to prevent its sharp ends from digging into the soft lead. Don’t worry, curving the blade won’t affect the way the blade cuts the lead, nor will it have much effect on how level the repair becomes as it is filed smooth.
PHOTO 12: This is an old body-man’s trick. A small ¼-inch nut was slipped between the blade and the handle to form a gentle curve. This curve ensures that most of the cutting is done near the center of the blade and not at the ends, where the blade would have a tendency to gouge the repair.
I prefer to file the soft lead until the edges feather into the metal surrounding the repair, as shown in photo 13, then change to a block with 40-grit sandpaper to do the final smoothing.
Once the repair is complete, the acid in the lead must be neutralized. This is one of the most important steps when making a lead repair because neutralizing the acid allows any subsequent coats of primer or body filler to permanently adhere to the lead. To neutralize the acid in the lead, I mix a portion of baking soda and water into a thick paste, about the consistency of toothpaste, apply the paste with a clean shop towel, and scrub the repair area thoroughly. I repeat this step at least twice, then do a final rinse with clean water.
PHOTO 13: The repair is filed flat using the modified body file.
In the world of automotive restoration, plans are drawn up, but it’s kept in mind that changes may have to be made. The plan at this point is to begin removal of the engine and drivetrain, but as I’ve already pointed out, panel-to-panel
