Restorer32 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Stripping down a '57 Cadillac for bodywork and paint. Somehow a previous "restorer" managed to spread lead over top of bondo. Somehow he managed to "bridge" the molten lead over about a 3 inch expanse of body putty. Never saw that before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Harmatuk Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Thats incredible!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Are you sure it wasn't Lab Metal? It looks very similar to lead and can be laid over plastic filler. Grab a chunk and try and melt it. If it burns it's Lab Metal. If it melts it is lead, but if it is I can't figure out why it didn't burn away the plastic filler under it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Definitely lead. Body lead has a melting point of about 500 degrees I believe and I guess the skim of lead was thin enough that it cooled before it could significantly burn the bondo. There was bondo adhered to the underside of the lead so it did burn/melt it some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Was the lead or filler bubbling or peeling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 So do you think they did that as a cost savings? I can't imagine someone taking the time to purposely do that and then be able to say to the customer "see, it is all in lead" prior to painting? How thick was the bondo? When you work on old cars it is amazing what kind of prior body work or mechanical work was done over the years - but that is a first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 You are right about what how some "do the cheap disguise" AND WITH THAT SHINY SOOTH PAINT pass it off as restored or FIXED properly.Can't wait till I redo the body on my 58 Buick Special and find what is below the paint! Have owned this for 30 plus years and if you look close at the door can now see the tell tale signs are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldenguy Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Any possibility it may have been sprayed on from a hot gun ? --Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 You are right about what how some "do the cheap disguise" AND WITH THAT SHINY SOOTH PAINT pass it off as restored or FIXED properly.Can't wait till I redo the body on my 58 Buick Special and find what is below the paint! Have owned this for 30 plus years and if you look close at the door can now see the tell tale signs are there.You can say that again! I did a restoration on a great driver one time to make it a National car. The paint was slick as a firehouse pole and pretty straight. Ended up replacing both rockers; both quarters, and the panel below the deck lid { not to mention both full floor sections and complete trunk floor } Some places the bondo had to be chisled out with an air chisel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RU22 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Ditzler made Alumilead since ever. You put power into the resin.Put a propane torch to it and seeif it melts and drips or chars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest elmo39 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 after close on 45-50 years of panel beating and painting professionly i fail to see how you could apply molten lead over bondo successfully, (we call it bog here in NZ) what i cant see is what would really be the point , if bondo (bog ) was applied correctly by a genuine tradesman (tradeperson) you should not be able to tell the difference , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 We have also seen about every possible Mickey Mouse repair in 33 years in business. One of my favorites was a car that came in with obviously bondoed rockers. Turned out someone had "woven" paint sticks into the general shape of a rocker and sculpted them with bondo. We have also seen chicken wire, cardboard, roof flashing and a piece of treated 2x4 under bondo. Once worked on a Healey with a floor repaired with pop rivets and a STOP sign. Have seen white enameled metal obviously from a refrigerator or other appliance used. Not a bad idea actually, the enamel keeps the inside of the repair from rusting for a while I guess. The '57 Caddy we are working on now had a good 1/2 inch of putty in one door. The shop record is 3/4 inch of bondo found in the doors of an XK Jag. Once found an entire taillight post made of bondo, I forget the make of car. Other door of the Caddy had putty as well and in one corner lead had been applied so that it bridged over about 3 inches of bondo. The lead was adhered to metal on both side of the bondo, forming a bridge. The bondo was charred a bit but not as much as you would think. I can understand HOW it could be done by just swiping a pool of molten body lead over putty but I sure can't understand WHY it was done. And yes, it was lead. We still use enough lead to know it when we see it, it's actually kind of fun to do real lead work. Wish I had taken pictures. There is no correlation between the value of a car and the techniques used in previous repairs. This Caddy is a Biarritz Conv and the piece of treated 2x4 was found forming the rear fender well curve on a '28 Caddy Dual Cowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Sounds like street rodder work to me!!!!!!A street rodder, somewhat friend, of mine has been doing his own work for years! Ears perked up yet?He once put a sunroof in an early Ford, but said to himself, "What are these tubes for? I don't need these stupid plastic tubes!"Sure enough, on the way to a show, a "cats and dogs" rainfall had him looking for cover. Finding cover, he came out looking like a drowned rat. Ummmm, plastic tubes?????? :confused: Ummm?????!!!! :eek::mad:Next story, same guy. His rod was looking good that year he had it for sale in York, Pa. Shiny paint, the smoothest medal ever seen. The car sold, but months later, some paint started to rise around the fender well. New owner decides to check it out. What? The fender lips had been formed out of clothes hanger cardboard tubes! :eek:Wow! They were smooth though.Restoration or desecration????? Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Albert Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Packard used lead to blend the hood scoop, fiberglass to the steel hoods back in 53, 54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 3/4" of bondo? Amateurs. You aren't really trying until you put it on 3 or 4 inches thick. I am not joking or jesting. Here in the rust belt years ago you used to see it. They lasted forever too. If plastic filler is thick enough it will not fall off and of course, will never rust. I have seen accident damaged fenders with that much fill that had obviously been fine for 10 years or more. Have also seen cars in junkyards with solid bondo fenders still in perfect shape with shiny paint while the rest of the car rusted away around them.My favorite was a prewar Cadillac Sixty Special. It came in for restoration work and a paint job. The driver's door was made of solid lead. No kidding, at some time in the past the door had been crushed in badly. The repairman took a cutting torch and cut a big X from corner to corner, pulled out the metal as straight as possible, tack welded it together with bronze and levelled everything over with lead. There must have been 2 to 3" of lead in the center of the panel. It must have taken 3 men to install it on the car.We cut out bad part and made a new door skin.I have seen other "amazing" repairs done back in the good old days of lead fill that were almost as bad. Don't tell me the ability to work lead automatically means better quality work LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kingoftheroad Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I didn't think lead over bondo was possible:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kingoftheroad Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Sounds like street rodder work to me!!!!!!A street rodder, somewhat friend, of mine has been doing his own work for years! Ears perked up yet?He once put a sunroof in an early Ford, but said to himself, "What are these tubes for? I don't need these stupid plastic tubes!"Sure enough, on the way to a show, a "cats and dogs" rainfall had him looking for cover. Finding cover, he came out looking like a drowned rat. Ummmm, plastic tubes?????? :confused: Ummm?????!!!! :eek::mad:Next story, same guy. His rod was looking good that year he had it for sale in York, Pa. Shiny paint, the smoothest medal ever seen. The car sold, but months later, some paint started to rise around the fender well. New owner decides to check it out. What? The fender lips had been formed out of clothes hanger cardboard tubes! :eek:Wow! They were smooth though.Restoration or desecration????? WayneI knew a guy that tried doing his own body work, improperly mixed the body filler, and that filler on the car never dried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest South_paw Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Sometimes lousy body work has a silver lining. Believe it or not, there is a wheel well molding buried under bondo in this picture. After a careful archeological dig. The moldings were saved. In fact they were in very good condition. Whomever did the work, didn't sand them down at all. Save and a beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 My ex-father-in-law had a 1960s Comet (?) that suffered from poor traction on Pennsylvania's snowy roads so he filled the side wells in the trunk with concrete. Had great traction but of course the concrete held moisture and eventually fell thru onto the ground. Now if he had lined those wells with plastic first.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now