The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Leading

Does anyone do leading here ?
If so what type of lead do you use?
True Lead or Lead Free Body Solder?
Lead has a strenght of 6140 psi compared to the lead free.
62Blue
Don

I used to do leading, and still have quite a few sticks of lead. I used 30% tin 70% lead. I think plastic filler started in the late 50's or so. The last factory lead that I know of is where the windshield post connect to the cowl on AD pickups was leaded. Some people call it soldering, but it is a little different. Soldering requires enough heat for the solder to flow. Leading requires a little less heat. I have a tip that I put on a torch that uses acetelyne but no oxygen. It draws air to burn and burns with a green flame. The lead is heated to where it is kind of like cold margarine and is spread with maple spoons while it is in kind of a crunchy state. Having your metal very clean is important. I used to do a lot of leading when dechroming a vehicle was the thing. I would lead the holes shut.

When referring to bodywork the word "lead" is commonly used but technically it's wrong. The technically correct term is "body solder".

Lead is mixed with tin to make solder. The difference between lead and solder is that solder has a broader range of temperature where it remains in a semi-liquid or plastic state so it can be formed. Lead will stay solid until it hits its melting point and then it suddenly melts.

The most common solder alloy for bodywork is 60/40.

Techniques for using body solder can be found online.

body solder is 70% lead- 30% tin Woody, and it's getting harder to find, more commonly now makers are offering lead free: Tin/Copper/Zinc, and I've heard that's more prone to cracking with impacts like plastic filler .... there were still leaded seams on the TF trucks, and probably later

Bill

Just for information; Mopar was still leading roof seams on the A-body cars in 1965. I haven't stripped the crack in my 66 Barracuda yet, but I think it will have lead too.

what do the auto makers use now

I had a total of 55 years in the body business, and the only solder I used was Hewett 70/30, which is 70% lead, 30% tin, as squeeze has pointed out...The lead that plumbers use will not stick to metal because of not containing tin, but is great for making fishing sinkers...I still have some body solder, but if I were to need some today it would be a chore to find it, if at all. Solder will not stick either, unless the metal is bared of any paint, then tinned using a tinning paste...Body solder was getting very cost prohibitive, the last time I purchased it was almost $5.00 a stick and that was over 15 years ago...As to what the factories now use on roof to quarter panel joints, they use an extreme high temperature formulated type of plastic that will withstand 400 degree's or more that the body sealers, and sound deadening need to cure before priming...
While working for GM, We had 150 full size Cadillac's shipped in bare metal for Us to bonderize, seal, and bake, then to prime and paint body in white. The roof joints were all done in lead, and after baking for 30 minutes at 400 degree's, the lead all melted and run down the sides of the quarter panels, and that's when they developed the high temperature plastic, which appeared had a lot of brass particles in the ingredients. Sorry for the long winded post, but the only time I found it necessary to use lead was when it couldn't be metal-finished...

they use the non-lead type like I 1inked above, which is claimed to have been formulated in consultation with the majors - if they still use anything

Bill