Hey everyone,

I bought a GTO hood for the '65 and discovered a very old lead repair on the leading edge of the hood. I started chipping it away and it's ugly--covered up holes from a dent puller, mangled metal, etc. Got a couple of questions.
How hot does the lead have to be to melt? Can I use a regular torch?
I am going to MIG weld the holes left behind by the dent puller. Should I weld the holes before or after I get the metal mostly straight?
I was also planning to use some of MartinSR's tips to pull the dent(s). Planning to weld washers to the surface and rig up a lever arm to pull the metal into shape. Should I bolt the hood up to the car before I start bodywork, or will it be easier to work on off the car?

Thanks everyone-
-Tony

I am pretty sure you can melt it out with a blue bottle torch.

I removed the lead seam on my car by taking off the paint first (with the paint on there it acts like an insulator) and then used a propane torch to heat it up and if flowed right off like water. Be careful you don't apply too much heat but just enough to get it off. What is still left on there can be heated back up and then using a wire brush, scrub the area to remove the last bits from the surface.
Again, Just be careful, as the lead can burn you.

Jim/Saint Louis

This should go without saying but be sure to have plenty of ventilation and DON'T breath the fumes!

You can melt it out with a torch(OXY/FUEL) or even a propane torch.

Heat just the leaded area no need to move the torch outside the lead. Once removed you NEED to make sure am talking 100% sure that all traces of that lead are removed. If any traces of the acid used in the tinning process are still present it can cause future paint problems.

Use a wire brush or Id go with a 3M clean-n-strip wheel. Its a super sweet tool that removes paint, rust etc like no other and does NOT remove metal like a grinding disc will. Looks like a black round sponge.

Weld the holes shut first then metal work the area. When you weld the metal will shrink causing some warpage so metal finishing the damage before welding is pointless cus now you'll just add more work for yourself by having to do it twice.

Just a nice trick to use to help weld those holes up is back the hole with some copper. The weld WONT stick to the copper and plus is acts like a heat stink.

Also please do me a favor and especially yourself, DO NOT cool the weld with water or air after you weld. Doing so just shocks the metal into staying in that shrunking form causing more warpage. if you allow the metal to cool NATURALLY you will lessen the amount of warpage. That is just basic metalorgy(sp?), the science of metal.

I am curious how the lead repair was holding up after many years? Most of these types of repairs if done right will last quite a while, so what was the reason for removing it?

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm off to buy a torch today. Eduardo, the lead repair looked generally ok, but the hood had been hit another time in the leaded area and some of the previous lead repair had cracked. So I'm just taking the entire area out.

yea, just about melt it with a match, very low melting temp, about like solder. These hoods...jeez like chasing the curls out of a piece of bacon..... Nice big flat panels....what could be more fun! Thats why a buddy of mine only works on 30's and 40's stuff, no flat panels..