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Before Bondo

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Al in PA

10-09-2001 20:39:32

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Years ago I took a vo-tech night class in auto body repair. The instructor described how sticks of solder were melted as a filler in the days before Bondo existed. Can anyone give a detailed explanation of this technique?

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nvbisdrviavbjkrbn uj

09-05-2003 12:33:20

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Re: Before Bondo in reply to Al in PA, 10-09-2001 20:39:32

i like to eat bacon

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Franz

10-09-2001 22:53:01

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Re: Before Bondo in reply to Al in PA, 10-09-2001 20:39:32

I had an old timer show me how 30 years ago, watched him patching a hole in a trunk lid with a piece of window screne and solder. That guy extended a Corvair van 18" and raised the roof 14", and nobody was ever able to find any of the seams. He would start applying the lead when he had the sheet metal within 1/8 inch of the finished surface, and lead the rest. It's done with a small torch, plenty of soldering paste, and wooden paddles. First you tin the sheet metal, then soften the solder and gob it onto the sheet metal, then gently apply just enough heat so you can paddle the softened solder to where you want it. When I tried to do exactly what Corwin did, with him watching, mostly I got to scrape solder off the floor and put it back into the solder pot for remelt. When I finished the day, he grabbed a wheel weight, and hung it on a side pannel, just to show me it was all a matter of practice. That guy had been doing it for 20+ years.
I've also seen an outfit that consisted of a torch with a small solder pot attached, aalong with an air hose. That unit sprayed molten solder onto body panels. After trying to lead a few things myself, I decided Bondo was how I'd be doing things.

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10-10-2001 06:07:30

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Re: Re: Before Bondo in reply to Franz, 10-09-2001 22:53:01

Thanks for refreshing my memory. The process you described is the same as I remembered, except I forgot you have to tin the metal first. Thanks again.

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sammy the RED

10-10-2001 08:34:27

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Re: Re: Re: Before Bondo in reply to Al, 10-10-2001 06:07:30

Another lost art. :o[

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big fred

10-10-2001 10:40:54

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Before Bondo in reply to sammy the RED, 10-10-2001 08:34:27

Not so lost as you might think. Lots of old car restorers are returning to lead and a whole new generation is learning the process. They may be hard to find, but they're out there.

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BillD

10-10-2001 13:32:39

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Before Bondo in reply to big fred, 10-10-2001 10:40:54

As I remember the paddles were lubricated with tallow or a mixture of tallow and parifine the solid kind not the English type

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Bill

10-13-2001 07:54:06

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Before Bondo in reply to BillD, 10-10-2001 13:32:39

Using lead or body solder is fun once you get the hang of it. I use self tinning flux,beeswax and a wooden paddle. Body solder usually 50/50 is available at welding supply houses. Melted wheel weights will work but not in areas that flex much. They have to much Antimony in them and the repair will crack if flexed to much. I use pure lead after the tinning process but it is getting hard to find.The process is simple but it takes some practice to get it . First clean the metal, use the self tinning flux or regular flux and solder to tin the area. I use a propane torch. Start heating the area gently.too much heat and you burn the flux off and nothing will stick.Introduce your filler material on to your metal.Remember that the molten metal will follow the heat if you are not too hot.If you need to smooth it out - warm up your wooden paddle and let the tallow or beeswax coat the wood. I keep my beeswax in a shallow pie pan to make it easy. You can move the molten filler around and it wont stick to the paddle.Practice on some horizontal surfaces first--the verticals are tough but you can do it if you play the heat just right.

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Rusty Jones

11-25-2001 18:48:55

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Before Bondo in reply to Bill, 10-13-2001 07:54:06

Well, fellers, most of your comments about leading body panels are right on the money, but the best lead mixture was 60/40, in sticks. Trying to use plumbers lead was like trying to push a wagon up hill with a rope! Plumbers lead took too much heat to soften it, and when it got hot enough, it ran off. The 60/40 mixture let the worker heat it until it got soft, then he could push it around and sort of smooth it out. After it hardened, it was filed with a curved tooth file, then block sanded to finish it off. Caution! Don't try to "pick up" the really lowspots--put on a bit more lead. Also--Bondo won't stick to lead very good! I found several leading paddles at the flea market, got them for $1:00. I had a leading tip that went on the end of the acetylene torch that didn't use any oxygen, just the gas. It had a large area flame that was just right for heating the lead. I think my son absconded with that, as he's doing body work, too. Two reasons why we quit using lead and went to Bondo--the cost got too high, and the car makers lightened the steel in the car. The heating process made that light guage tin warp excessively, so we had to quit using it. Those cars made before 1950 could be leaded without all that warping, as they had panels made with compound curves, not flat like the cars from 1950 on! From: Rusty jones

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