So we`ve been working on the rivullac and I know that we are going to have to use a small(?) amount of filler so what is best? Ive seen the lead kit from Eastwood and a friend of mine said his buddy got it but hasent tried it yet,any thoughts about it?Ive been learning a lot on this car( did my first weld last week) but would like to hear from you pros, thanks
Bondo rules, no doubt about it, if used judiciuosly. Don't be making no fender or door edges out of it, Bondo's good stuff if used right. There are no paint adhesion problems like you have with lead. Have you ever seen factory roof seams done with lead? That bubbling is from lack of paint adhesion, same with brass brazing. If your'e not sculpting body lines, Bondo works great. Don't buy the cheap Pep Lad stuff, get the good ultralight from paint supply stores and don't go too heavy with it. Work out the dents and seams with yer' hammer and dolly, the shit's good, so long as you're not a Maaco styled mud slinger.
I agree. Bondo is pretty good if used properly (of course lead is great too if you have the talent and ambition to do that correctly!). Just dont make Bondo rocker panels like someone I know -Dean
look at the roof seem on any 80's black car and you can see that the lead has moved from the heat. todays plastic products are the way to go.
I started out with Lead and still do it. It's "not" my first choice. Todays plastic fillers are far superior to lead. Contrairy to mith lead is not perminate. It's also not painter friendly unless you know how to prep it. Talk to a paint supplier and chose a brand. Then use as many products from bare metal up they make. It's all good, just some are better than others. Keep it simple, work with a painter. And that's my 2 cents worth. The Wizzard
Lead is toxic as hell to work with too. Modern plastic fillers are the way to go. Use Evercoat Rage. If the plastic is done correctly and used sparingly, there is nothing wrong with it
My buddy still uses lead but he also uses filler. Lead is good for the door edges and other spots where bondo can crack. Here's a pic of him putting some lead on the edges of my 39.
as fun as it sounds, if you arent experienced with lead (like me) im sure you can really mess something up badly with warpage, especially if you are inexperienced with welding
as already said with todays high quality plastics thats the ticket unless your using it as a build and fill type thing as mentioned. get yourself a gallon or rage gold and go to town. its good shit. i hate using lead and haven't for a long time. then again i hate body work but love paint so i'm going in the easier painter friendly direction anyhow...ken....
lead is a lost art....but lost for a reason as already said.....but y not use fiber glass filler like kitty hair and Dura-glas for those sculpting jobs and edges? ive used it to peak and door edges and its water proof and oh so strong.....ur say on this guys?
I just got some stuff from my local body shop called Allmetal. It's a resin based body filler thet they say is the best stuff they have ever used. they do excelent work so I believe them. the shit aint cheap. pogo
Nothing beats 'Bump,Pick and File' Real metal work without filler of anykind doesn't crack chip or resist paint Just takes time but sometimes it's faster than running mud Maybe you don't have a feel for it,but you'll never know if you don't try If you gotta fill use a plastic with a non talc filler
the key to all body work is bring the first damage in ...out last...work backwards and try your best with hammer, dollies and sppons to get the metal finishing to within a 16th of and inch...then use allmetal or rage...allmetal will run ya about 14 bucks a qt at cost...not too sure on rage...I just get it from my supply room and slap it on and file it out.... From what i know lead is not the best for working large areas that would take alot of coverage...on account of the heat and the warpage that follows. I am sure the weight becomes a factor in a great deal of lead work...Yet it is an art form to watch an old body guy rock that out..
apples and oranges. I wouldn't use plastic filler to do leads job and vise versa. Lead has its' place.
Both have thier place, but used properly, plastic filler is more versatile and its a hell of alot cheaper.
Bondo nowadays is a hell of alot better than it was. Lead is good anywhere on a car as long as you don't use it on a flat spot like a door panel or a hood. Because you start working with a spot that is the size of a quarter and you end up filling in a spot the size of a basketball. The reason it does that is because you have to heat the metal to get the lead to bond well and that is what will cause the metal to warp. Also if you use lead on a surface that undergoes heavy vibration like a hood, decklid, door panels, etc... the lead tends to break loose. I know a ton of body men who were working on car bodies since their teens and are now in there 60's and 70's who wouldn't even want a body shop to put a spot of lead in their cars. However it's your car your decision.
C,mon Bluto, let's be realistic here. Sure it would be great to metal bump every crease to perfection and not use any filler of any kind, but who in the heck's got the time or ability to do that? Very few, that's who. The truth is that if used properly a car that's got some Bondo in it will last as long as the perfectly restored zero filler car. It would be a dream to be so good that you never need filler, but I'd rather have a car on the road than spend years perfecting a craft that no one will notice.
I just bought the Eastwood lead kit. The video they have is a little confusing, but I think all the info is there to get me started, and the tools they include look ok- $100 is pricey, but I wanted to try it. I'm only planning on using the lead to fill some holes- overall surface finish will be done with plastic filler. I think filling holes with plastic filler is a hack way to go, and I'm not a good enough welder to fill them in without warping the shit out of everything around it, so I figured that I'd give lead a shot. If it comes out well, I'll post some pics.
I'm using bondo to fill the trim holes on the Imp; it's a pain because the filler keeps falling through. Any tips or tricks?
From what I understand your supposed to actually weld a bead in the holes and then use that as a base for filler. But what I did on a nova door was take a piece of metal and hold it on the back with a magnet and then apply lead. It worked but It did really distort the metal and was a bitch during body work.
No matter if you get bondo to stay in the holes, the first pothole you hit it's all gonna pop out! Dont do it! Weld those holes up first (if you can't ,get someone to do it) then skim coat with plastic. And dont even think of painting the car if you are just plugging up holes with bondo, you'll regret it! -stick
I had an black 83 mercury capri in 1986 and had to dig all the lead out of the roof seams and replace it with plastic as it all bubbled It was really disturbing on a 3 year old car
My point is you never learn if you never try. You may find your a lot faster than you think Start on the easy spots and don't let it beat you
Just so you know lead is very toxic, especially to kids. If you have kids and you do this you might want to change out of the clothes you leaded in inside the shop before you go into the house. The lead gets everywhere especially when you file it and sand it, if it ever gets into your living space it can be very hard to remove and can cause years of damage to the health of your loved ones. That being said it do it its your car, and I love to see good body work regardless of the filler type.
Have you ever taken a close look at Bill Hines? Had a 68 camaro once. Bondo between rear wheelwell and rear bumper was 3 inches deep with 2 layers of chickenwire. I dug all that out of there, ground it down to bare metal and pounded it back out with a claw hammer and a tire iron. I suck at bodywork but all it needed was a skim coat of bondo when I was done. Took me longer to dig that shit out than it did to fix the panel. Amazing what some people will do with bondo.
Okay-I was Walmart the other day and they have these mini torches for soldering pipe and shit. Can I use that?
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