I dont know how to weld, and rental of the equipment is not cost effective for the little amount that I need to do. I am restoring an old Benelli, and the rear fender has rusted clean through the metal, leaving many tiny little holes. Can solder be used to fill these holes, and then just use a medium grit paper to sand it down? With this sort of metal accept a primer? Once used, does this strange metal stay soft, or once it is meltedand hardened, it is much harder?
Thanks

I wasn't sure of the answer so I asked the lead slead man himself, this is what he said.



I think you are talking about LEAD. Lead will work for this but you must first get the metal shiny clean for it to stick. That will be the hard part.

Good luck!

Thanks. I will give it a go!

if you never done bodywork before and are now trying to accomplish the lost art of leading a panel you have some tough times ahead. Really you try plastic filler if this is your forst go. Just being honest

Anonymous wrote:if you never done bodywork before and are now trying to accomplish the lost art of leading a panel you have some tough times ahead. Really you try plastic filler if this is your forst go. Just being honest

I always thought they changed from lead to solder because of health issues?

Body solder is a lead-tin alloy. It is a hazardous metal but the big reason for the switch was time and skill. When I was a teenager, my neighbor spent months leading a '53 Chevy convertable. A pro wouldn't take as long but it is a high-skill operation.
Since you are dealing with small holes, Bondo is not a good idea because it is not waterproof. You might consider a filler called Metal-2-Metal. It has a high percentage of aluminum in it and is completely waterproof so water will not creap in the back side of your repair.