Quarter panel lead joint question

[1 Wild R/T]

All of the high end resto shops that I have spoken to advised me to keep away from lead? They claim modern body filler is much superior to lead. They claim that lead can lead to problems down the road?

I've head the same info here too................either way....if one or the other aren't applied properly....you'll have problems 

o your saying the Purple Vert you just finished wasn't done in lead?   Good Luck...

[7E-Bodies]

So @1 Wild r/t you're saying I should lead tat the quarter/Dutchman panel?  I've never seen that.

[anlauto]

So @1 Wild r/t you're saying I should lead tat the quarter/Dutchman panel?  I've never seen that.

Only convertibles have the quarter/Dutchman panel filled with lead, NOT hardtops 

[anlauto]

All of the high end resto shops that I have spoken to advised me to keep away from lead? They claim modern body filler is much superior to lead. They claim that lead can lead to problems down the road?

I've head the same info here too................either way....if one or the other aren't applied properly....you'll have problems 

o your saying the Purple Vert you just finished wasn't done in lead?   Good Luck...

On all the convertibles I've restored we actually weld the seam solid so it doesn't require any filler. In order for that seam to crack the car would have to flex quite a bit in order to crack the actual weld.

[1 Wild R/T]

So @1 Wild r/t you're saying I should lead tat the quarter/Dutchman panel?  I've never seen that.

Only convertibles have the quarter/Dutchman panel filled with lead, NOT hardtops 

Exactly... And convertibles flex more so those areas are highly stressed....  I've been involved in about a dozen E body convertible restorations & we've tried allot of methods to fill those seams, On a couple cars we've redone that seam using different methods looking for the answer.. The only fix that has truly held up is lead...

[Rdchallenger]

So @1 Wild r/t you're saying I should lead tat the quarter/Dutchman panel?  I've never seen that.

Only convertibles have the quarter/Dutchman panel filled with lead, NOT hardtops 

So dumb question then, when installing new quarters or even a new Dutchman panel. What do you do to keep water from coming into the trunk after installed? Obviously there's something more than just a couple of spot welds.

[7E-Bodies]

Have the same question myself, @Rdchallenger Looking forward to answers.

[anlauto]

My body shop will but a bead of seam sealer along the joint just before the painting process starts, then with a damp finger they remove most of it while pushing it down into the seam .

[Cuda Cody]

   I use wax and grease remove on my finger to spread out the seam sealer.  All joints should have seam sealer. 

[7E-Bodies]

Thanks @anlauto, that was going to be my next question as I'm not sure how I'd match the factory groove using lead.

[Rdchallenger]

Agreed! Thank you very much for the tip!

[tparker]

mmmm.... My was leaded. I replaced the roof and used Eastwoods "lead" kit, which is obviously not lead anymore. I had no idea it was leaded until I tried to remove it and found it. It made the removal a bit easier since I just had to melt it out. The worse part was cutting out all the spot welds. That sucked.

I actually enjoyed learning to do the body soldering stuff. It wasn't too hard. I'm no body man, but as I understand, filler shouldn't be real thick. Perhaps there is different filler or fiberglass that can be applied much thicker. The quarter to roof seam would need a LOT of filler.

I didn't replace the how quarter panel, but I put in a patch and there wasn't any lead where the panels meet. I'm not even sure if there was seam sealer down there. It was a pretty tight fit.

[tparker]

Here is a pic where you can see the old lead. I peeled off the roof and laid the new one on to check the fit. You can see the silver lead between the black roof and yellow body.

I didn't have any experience with it and found leading to be fairly easy and forgiving. You can always remelt the lead. Once filler dries, your stuck with it. The biggest trick was making sure there was enough flux applied so it would stick and getting a handle on the melting point and the best temperature to work it. A tad too much and it becomes liquid and runs, and a tad less and it doesn't move. This is worse cause you're working on a vertical surface. The dutchman or deck filler panel would be easier since it is horizontal.

[7E-Bodies]

@tparker good to hear as it's been a while. I have the complete 70/30 kit from Eastwood and extensive brazing and soldering experience though. Im just wondering how one would simulate the factory seem at the Dutchman using lead versus a high quality paintable seam sealer and furthermore, how to prep it for final paint.

[tparker]

I can't remember what I actually did, but I didn't solder those seams. Mine was too far gone to actually notice what they did, but I don't recall any lead in the dutchman panel. It was spot welded tightly and probably had seam sealer, but I have no idea. I took a bunch of photos of different cars at car shows so I could see what the looked like. If your interested I could upload them here or elsewhere if they would be useful