Steve Frisbie of Steve's Auto
Restorations in Portland, Oregon, has been using lead for nearly 30 years to help produce some of the finest customs and street rods in the country. Although Steve produces and sells a DVD that covers all the basic tools and techniques needed for the beginning lead worker, he has agreed to share some of his insights with us in this two-part series. Steve will first provide an overview of tools and materials, and will then steer us step-by-step through a proper lead repair.
Major auto manufacturers began using lead to fill seams and gaps between panels nearly a century ago, but it was the torch-wielding artisans of the post-World War II era who are responsible for forging the malleable metal's indelible role in custom car culture. The use of lead was so prevalent during the first major wave of automotive customizing in the late '40s and early '50s that an entirely new breed of custom emerged, the iconic leadsled. Lead was the medium that allowed early customizers the freedom to chop at will and painlessly erase any evidence of wrong doing. How-to lead articles were advertised as one of the fundamentals of customizing during the mid to late '50s, and were routinely published in titles such as Rod & Custom, Hop Up, and Car Craft. Although lead was superseded long ago as the body filler of choice in the automotive repair industry, lead work has maintained a legacy of mystique and expert craftsmanship. The development of high-quality polyester fillers has reduced the number of capable lead specialists to a scant few, but lead can still serve a vital role in a premium custom body shop.
Although most body shops across the country use polyester fillers exclusively because they are cheap and easy to work with, lead has yet to be rendered obsolete. Lead work requires a skilled hand and patience, but in the ultra critical world of high-end custom paint, the goal is always quality, and quality takes time. In most situations polyester fillers are completely acceptable and perform admirably, but there are some basic properties of lead that make it better suited for some types of repairs. Lead is a much denser and more stable material than polyester filler, and, unlike polyester, tends to shrink and expand at the same rate as the base metal. This stability dramatically reduces the potential for the paint to shrink back into the material and reveal sand scratches, which is a far too common occurrence when materials are sprayed over polyester that has not fully cured. Lead is also much more suitable for use on edges of doors or fenders and will not crack off as easily as polyester.
Polyester fillers also have a tendency to trap innumerable air bubbles when mixed too hot or applied incorrectly, and air bubbles can lead to blisters and pinholes in a painted part. Lead is far less susceptible to trapping air pockets because the material is melted in the application process and allowed to flow into the void being filled. If, by chance, tiny air pockets are trapped by the lead, the sheer density of the material prohibits the air from ever escaping. The natural stability and density of lead also contribute to the longevity of repairs in which it is used. Although lead can become brittle and begin to crack after decades of extreme expansion and contraction, chances are you will start breaking down long before the repair.