filling the roof channels (With lead)

[scirocco at powerlink.net (John C. Worden)]

The Eastwood Co. sells a kit for doing this and supplies to keep doing it.

John


At 08:06 PM 2/16/04 -0500, Ron@bunch.org wrote:

>I'm going to mention an old school technique here that I have yet to 
>master, so can't tell you how. That's using molten lead as a body filler. 
>It doesn't crack.
>
>As recently as the 1970s and maybe even in the 1980s,  higher end German 
>auto manufacturers used it as a technique to sculpt final fit of parts. 
>(USA manufacturers used it in the 50s.) A craftsman would apply molten 
>lead to an area needing filling and then use an insulated glove on his 
>other hand to to wipe it smooth.
>
>As far as I know, no lead filled Mercedes or Porsche ever cracked, but I 
>have seen a lot of failed synthetic fillers only a couple years out.
>
>Yes, lead can be dangerous, but I've been exposed to lead paints (spraying 
>them at 8 years old) and lead bullet casting for more than a decade beyond 
>a half century: and I'm still here. (Sorry, but my Mom never taught me to 
>chew on the woodwork.)
>
>If you want to try it, visit your local library and look for the very 
>earliest body repair manuals. As a disappearing art, it is doubtful you 
>will find any Internet reference.
>
>A critical point is using a proper flux to prepare the steel so as to 
>avoid corrosion. (Solder flux doesn't work.) I'm still working on that and 
>intend to use it for smoothing repair on my 86 8V rear quarter panel.
>
>If I were repainting a Scirocco, I'd invest in original factory filler 
>pieces (or lead).
>That's my opinion and your car. However, if you were selling it a few 
>years from now with a beautiful paint job and a W30 conversion, my 
>attention would focus on the roof.
>
>At 08:41 AM 2/16/04 -0600, Mark Langford wrote:
>>I'm about to paint my 87 Scirocco, and spent Friday removing everything
>>that's not a faded-to-pink version of Tornado red.  After peeling off the
>>black "drip rails" from the roof (that's all I can think they'd be for),  I
>>called the VW stealership, where I was told these were available only if you
>>bought the entire roof.  Well, I'd already been thinking of getting rid of
>>them anyway, so that confirmed it.
>>
>>I was thinking of mixing up some epoxy with microballoons and filling them
>>completely with this stuff (same stuff composite aircraft builders use), as
>>it's not as prone to cracking as polyester type body fillers.  Has anybody
>>filled these channels with something, and did it last without eventually
>>cracking? And what did you use?
>>
>>Thanks a lot,
>>
>>Mark Langford, markl "at"  hiwaay.net
>>1974 2110cc Karmann Ghia  (http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/ghia2.jpg)
>>1987 2.0L 16V Scirocco
>>1999 1.8T Audi A4 Avant
>>2001 1.8T GTI w/APR chip
>>see Corvair powered KR2S project at http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford
>>