Classic Ford – August 2019

August 2019

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Smoothing

We’re going to smooth and shape the lead we’ve

applied to the panel. For this you need shaped blocks

of wood – usually Maple – called paddles. There are

various shapes but basically, use a flat one and a

curved one. The surface is gently heated...

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...and then dipped in tallow, which is a waxy

lubricant to prevent the paddle sticking to the lead.

This needs thoroughly cleaning off after the leading

is finished — more on this later.

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This bit needs a bit of flair and patience...

Don’t worry too much about it looking a bit of a mess

at this stage because we’ll do the smoothing next.

...and then starts shaping the lead with one of the

paddles dipped in tallow.

Robin gently heats the area again until the lead

just starts to melt — you want it the consistency

of butter...

Applying the lead

We’ve been using phrases such as body solder because the term, leading is a bit misleading — you aren’t

actually using straight lead. What we’re using is an alloy of tin and lead, which resembles the stuff you use for

electrical soldering, but which can’t be used here. The ratio of tin and lead determines how hot it needs to be

to melt it, thus there are solders for seams and lower-melt solders for areas which are likely to warp under

heat. You need a lower one to risk damaging the panel you’re trying to fill.

As soon as he can feel it softening, he pushes the

stick into the seam...

Robin starts introducing some heat, gently heating
the area and the end of the lead stick at the same
time. It’ll start to melt, but you don’t want too much
heat either.

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In all things, there’s necessary preparation. Robin

scrapes the top surface of the lead stick he’s using to

remove traces of oxidation, revealing a nice bright

metal to heat.

...and builds up the amount of solder by working

along the seam, pushing the lead stick into it.