Leading is quickly becoming a lost art with more and more people opting to use bondo and other synthetics in auto body restoration. In this episode of TIG Time we show you how to use the tinning and leading process to repair thin spot in your auto body work.
Step one: Sand the area you are going to be working on
It is important to get the area you will be working on down to bare metal. Be sure that you sand down an area about 6 inches around your designated work area.
Step 2: Prep the area with tinning butter
The area that was just sanded now needs to be prepped with tinning butter. The 70 / 30 lead sticks that you will be using will only stick to areas that are prepped with the tinning butter, so it is important to apply it liberally to all areas to be "leaded".
Step 3: Pre-heat the area
After you've applies the tinning butter, heat it up to a temperature where it begins to bubble.
Step 4: Apply lead
Apply the lead and melt it into the low areas. Flatten and spread out the lead while it is still hot with your wooden paddle, applying more if needed.
Step 5: File and finish
Once you are done spreading the elad, let it cool and file it to a flat surface. Once you have filed it down, you can take a 50-grit grinder and clean it up a bit. After you clean it up with the 50-grit, you can take a finer grit dual action sander to it and feather the edges in preparation for primer.
1 окт 2024