When replacing the 1/4's on my '66, should I replace the lead that fills the upper seam in the sail with plastic body filler??? Seems lioke a really BIG chunk of filler to me...is this what the rest of you are doing?? I am afraid that it will end up not lasting very long. I would really appreciate some suggestions.

Thanks, Steve

I think Bondo pretty much replaced lead for health and ease of application...

I think lead would be better, but getting hard to find someone that knows how and is willing to correctly apply and finish the lead...

I have a 66 that had a 1/4 replaced 19+ years ago (I bought it that long ago), and the sail panel seam is filled with Bondo... It still hasn't come off... I only found out it was bondo when I was beginning to sand the car down...

As for being too much material, that all depends. I would think a good body man could replace the 1/4 without having to use too much filler. The less experience, the more filler is likely needed.

Avoid lead at all cost. I used to work at a shop and old 356 Porsche would come in looking great. Strip the paint off and melt the lead out and nothing behind the lead. Metal will rust out behind lead and you will never see it. Plastic fillers will absorbe moisture and bubble showing a fault at the base. It was not just one or two cars by the way nearly all cars we did it to had it happen.

When used right and properly within its means filler WILL OUTLAST your car.

Body filler has come a long ways. Filler got a bad name because of shade tree guys that would drill holes in a dent to pull them out but never welded them shut afterwards, just slapping filler over the holes. Well down the road moisture would attack the filler due to that hole causing the metal to rust and filler fall out.

On those sail panels you can first apply a fiber straided type of filler like kitty hair or marglass or fiberall. This type has straids of fiberglass in the filler which makes for a stronger filler. Agaist belief that this type or the all metal fillers are waterproof they ARE NOT waterproof. They are somewhat more water resistant HUGE DIFFERENCE. use the fiberglass filler for a BASE filler then topcoat with a regular high quilty filler like RAGE or RAGE GOLD.

If you think filler is just filler think again. The cheap stuff can stain back meaning on light colored cars especially blues once exposed to the UV lights the filler will under a chemical change. This change will result in a yellowing of the filler which would be VERY visable.
A WELL known ROD shop in Iowa has had just a few cars come back because of this. Nothing like being a cheap asre to save 10 bucks on filler and then have to redo the entire car. Right now he is REDOING a pearl white 37 ford convert because he was a CHEAP ASRE on filler but that mistake is now COSTING HIM a 10+ thousand dollar paint job. That seem worth it to ya???

Hehe, small world....I hail from Urbandale....Thanks for the info....

Here's another opinion...The "cheap" stuff has been around many years. Rage and Rage Gold only came onto the scene about 3-4 years ago. What do you think we all did before it was invented? Eh?

The only time I've ever had bleed through of filler is when I got in a hurry and sanded it down and sprayed primer on it before it was fully cured...or really got in a hurry and sprayed a sealer then color/clear within an hour or so of sanding the fresh filler.

I haven't used lead in over 35 years. The fiber strand, All-Metal and plain old polyester filler have served me well. The filler bleed through that I experienced was over 20 years ago. I learned to let the filler cure properly and prime as per instructions. Never had to re-do any 10K paint jobs either...and that was long before Rage was invented.

I suspect the dudes in Iowa who are having to re-do the 10K paint job have other issues besides "cheap" filler.

I've used Rage. I've used Rage Gold. I'm not convinced that the ease of use and sanding overrides the outrageous cost. My opinion does cost you as much as those who advocate the use of Rage/Rage Gold. smile.gif

Vette, even before RAGE there was GOOD filler and BAD filler. Just like everything else in life, somethings are better then others.
Simply stated, why take that chance of using that bargin basement 5 dollar filler?

Ive seen the car that is getting the redo, nice yellowish stains from underneath the paint. In my book thats filler bleed thro.

sevt, I completely agree that not all fillers are created equal either in quality or price keeping in mind that the price isn't necessarily an indication of quality/value. However, my main point is that in my experience, filler bleed through is a result of other factors besides the quality of the filler.

While I have my personal preferences in brands/types of fillers, I'm not so picky as to shun the Bondo brand at Autozone or the 5-gallon pails of DynaLite from my paint/body supplier or gallon pails of one of the Evercoats. The differences are in the ease of application and/or sanding. I've had no reason to worry about bleed through with any of them regardless of price as long as they are mixed properly, applied properly and proper curing and priming procedures are followed.