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Just a leadin' fool

Pistol Pete

5wndwcpe
FBBO Gold Member
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7:09 PM
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Location
Southeastern, PA
I don't know about you guys (and gals) but one of my pet peeves is how the quarter extensions line up on a '68 B body. The either don't fit well on the top, on the side or both. You're stuck with finding a happy medium which usually sucks too.

But alas, there is hope. Get out the torch and have a go at slinging some lead.

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looking real good :headbang:

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haven't seen one of those old 5 gal. mud buckets with air in a long time ,I also see you collect helmets too
 
looking real good :headbang:

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haven't seen one of those old 5 gal. mud buckets with air in a long time ,I also see you collect helmets too

Thanks


Hahaha, I doubt that bucket of mud is worth ****. I haven't tapped it in years. The helmets are leftovers from the demo derby days :)
 
I quite using the pail because they always leaked, then ended up using the big bags that would hang ,I still have a large shaft drive body grinder that I used along long long long time ago kept for laughs because the dam thing about took me in half ,I `ll have to take some photos of it ,boy the dam tools we used back then doing body work OSHA would not approve of them today :buffer:
 
That's some fine looking lead work there. Is that real lead or the lead free stuff and how easy was it to work with? From the videos that I've been watching on Youtube it doesn't look all that hard.
 
try it ,some people can pick it up real soon and do a good job ,and then there are ones that most of the lead ends up on the floor , never get discouraged at anything ,you have nothing to loose :headbang:
 
That is nothing less then impressive there, ive read about using lead and seen some guys work but you seem to have taken it to another level which looks as nice as any "bondo job" ive ever seen! I wish you good luck with the rest of your build but i don't think you need it seeing this. Very nice. I didn't know the 68 had this problem and im to far away to wonder if 69 is the same, but i will be looking in on your work after seeing how intensive your being getting things the way they should be. Thanks for posting...
 
I've been toying with stripping my car and clear coating over the bare metal and I think I might just give this a shot.
 
Hat's off to you mate! I have seen plenty of attempts on lead wiping, but your finished result is awesome! Have you done this before?
 
That's some fine looking lead work there. Is that real lead or the lead free stuff and how easy was it to work with? From the videos that I've been watching on Youtube it doesn't look all that hard.

Thanks.

I use real lead and no, it's not terribly difficult. As you can imagine, working on a verticle surface is much more, uh, challengingthan a hrizontal surface, mainly because the solder has a very narrow plastic state.

That is to say it goes from solid to liquid real fast if you're not paying attention to your heat and all of previous your work ends up on your toes.

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/solder3070.htm

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That is nothing less then impressive there, ive read about using lead and seen some guys work but you seem to have taken it to another level which looks as nice as any "bondo job" ive ever seen! I wish you good luck with the rest of your build but i don't think you need it seeing this. Very nice. I didn't know the 68 had this problem and im to far away to wonder if 69 is the same, but i will be looking in on your work after seeing how intensive your being getting things the way they should be. Thanks for posting...

Thanks Ron.

The problem with being "intensive" is these builds take freakin' forever. In the early days I held no contempt for trowling the mud on and calling it good. Back then you could knock a car out in a few months instead of years.

I'm thinking I miss those days. :icon_mrgreen:

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try it ,some people can pick it up real soon and do a good job ,and then there are ones that most of the lead ends up on the floor , never get discouraged at anything ,you have nothing to lose :headbang:



^^^^^ This is some of the best advice you'll find on an internet forum.

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Hat's off to you mate! I have seen plenty of attempts on lead wiping, but your finished result is awesome! Have you done this before?
Likie Snake says, try it, you may like it.
Lead work is very much like welding in the regard that practice goes a long way in improving your skills.

Tools matter as well. If you're a novice and try to learn with an o/a set up, you're most likely going to have a rough time keeping your heat consistant. Not that it can't be done mind you, it's just harder because the flame is not "soft" enough.
 
If your going to do lead work stay away from lead free. It takes too much temperature to melt and is very hard to file. Wear gloves get the metal shiny clean, apply Acid flux, file with transmission fluid to keep fiole clean. Gloves respirator and finally hand sand. Nothing compares. it is water proof and is flexible to the steel. 80/20 or 75/ 30 with map or propane torch. Neutralize with baking soda and also crisco or lard for the paddle to keep paddle from sticking and burning.
 
If your going to do lead work stay away from lead free. It takes too much temprature to metl and is very hard to file. Wear gloves get the metal shiny clean, apply Acid flux, file with transmission fluid to keep fiole clean. Gloves respirtator and finally hand sand. Nothing compares. it is water proof and is flexable to the steel. 80/20 or 75/ 30 with map or propane torch. Neutralize with baking soda and also crisco or lard for the paddle to keep paddle from sticking and burning.

This is extremely important if you wish your paint to stay on the car for any length of time.
 
over the years there have been many articles on the use of lead ,from magazine articles to movies video tapes and dvd`s ,I learned how to lead back in the 50`s and 60`s when I was young and learning the auto body trade Learned hoe to tin my panels today they still use that method but there is tinning butter now also that makes it easier for a lot of guys ,if you want to learn pick up the tapes ,watch on line videos and practice ,practice and more practice ,I believe you can go to Eastwood and they have a starter kit and dvd`s for you to start with ,remember practice and have fun learning a lost trade

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it took me a matter of seconds to find all kinds of material ,use your finger [video=youtube_share;jQ_85fp1avs]http://youtu.be/jQ_85fp1avs[/video]

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[video]http://www.rotometals.com/Solder-s/25.htm[/video]
 
I certainly miss those days your talking about!
 
When you watch Bill Hines do lead work, don't be fooled he has been doing this for 50 years. He uses Stay free which is hydrochlric acid to clean metal. If you go to johnsons Meatal supply you get a combo product with lead in the Flux. The beginnner will have a heck of a time using Acetylene gas instead of Map and a rose bud. After he applied Hydro he wipes lead on the surface to plate the steel. Difficult to start this way.
 
Cool thread Pete. Thanks for posting. Can we refer the '68 as "the Lead Sled" now? Hehehehe. Great info on here from all. Makes a guy want to go melt some stuff.
 
I don't know about you guys (and gals) but one of my pet peeves is how the quarter extensions line up on a '68 B body. The either don't fit well on the top, on the side or both. You're stuck with finding a happy medium which usually sucks too.

But alas, there is hope. Get out the torch and have a go at slinging some lead.

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Another lead man great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I will try this.... I know welding and soldering and brass ok.... I worry about too much heat and will practice on some old junk.... I like the old arts.. thank you for this...
 
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