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Thread: Bar solder question

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Remiel's Avatar
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    Bar solder question

    I picked up some bar solder locally and had questions about the makeup.

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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    That would be 50/50 solder. 50% tin, 50% lead.

    Don
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  3. #3
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    All I've seen were also 50/50.

    The big market for them was to auto body shops before 'bondo' came along in the late 1950's and made it obsolete.

    Some antique car guys will pay a decent amout for a few to hang on the wall.

    For heavily damaged cars--- the term 'Lead sled' was born.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Ok tyvm, I got about 4lbs of it for about $5.20

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  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Remiel View Post
    Ok tyvm, I stole about 4lbs of it for about $5.20

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    There... fixed it for you!
    Yes, you did very well for yourself. In tin value alone it’s at least four times that. Congratulations on a good find. If some collector wants those sticks, make sure you get the cost of 2 lb of tin and a bit more. All of it I have like that came in years ago, but I haven’t thought of the car restorers’ market.

    Froggie
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Green Frog View Post
    There... fixed it for you!
    Yes, you did very well for yourself. In tin value alone it’s at least four times that. Congratulations on a good find. If some collector wants those sticks, make sure you get the cost of 2 lb of tin and a bit more. All of it I have like that came in years ago, but I haven’t thought of the car restorers’ market.

    Froggie
    Lol, the place I got it from has a drum full of solder wire too, got about 40lbs of lead for 1.30 a pound too,
    Don't know any collectors but I will use the full bars last just in case.

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  7. #7
    Boolit Master

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    i have seen 60/40 and 70/30. it will be clearly marked
    nice snag

  8. #8
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    Ah yes I remember it well leading fenders, quarter panels, and any other place on a car that would get a dent! As a certified Rolls Royce technician we weren’t aloud to use any plastic auto body filler, had to use lead. And it was available in other percentages. I did use 60/40 on Rolls Royce‘S . Interestingly Bondo was actually a brand name, it was one of the first plastic autobody fillers that came out. End it was horrible to use! Like trying to finish concrete! The last time I use lead on anything was back in the late 70s early 80s. I’ve been out of the business since the late 80s when I tore my back up! Oh well didn’t mean to hijack a thread just a little bit of useless trivia.
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by poppy42 View Post
    . Interestingly Bondo was actually a brand name, .
    Very true.
    3M invented the stuff which then was the heavy weight variety.
    It was basically a fiberglass resin product and talc--- basically ground up dirt.

    They didn't sell enough in the late 50's to be worth while, so they sold the rights for it to Dynatron Bondo Corp.
    They brought it out under the 'Bondo' name.

    Late 60's or so, 3M made glass micro beads. They sold them to Dynatron- and probably still do.
    That became the filler for light weight bondo.
    It brought the weight down from 12 pounds for a almost full gallon can to 7.

    Other companies make versions of it now, but Dynatron Bondo's brand is still the benchmark.

    Back in my auto paint store days- we sold 4-500 (4 gallon) cases of it a year.
    Oh-- the trick to working it is to do it all before it gets real hard,
    You want to be done and prime over it within 3-4 hours after its mixed.
    After a couple days, bring a sandwich and something to drink because you'll be there a while.

    Body shops have since gone from producing 'Lead sleds',,,,, to 'Bondo buggies'.
    Last edited by Winger Ed.; 05-19-2020 at 10:50 PM.
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  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    I have 4 bars of it, didn't know what it was because it doesn't have a mark on it that I can find. I thought it was a solder.

  11. #11
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    Body solder also has lower tin versions in the 5 and 10 percent. One had to use high tin alloy to "tin" the surface to be filled, then could use lower tin as filler. Needed an alloy that you could keep in a putty like stage to push out and fill the dent. Worked it with a torch and wood pushers called paddles wiped in bees wax to keep them sliding across the lead.

    Used it on motorcycles back in the 80's and done right the vibrations would not ever shake the patch out and it didn't soak up moisture swell and crack either. Hit with 80 grit to finish shape and skim some thin filler to fill in the scratches. I think the pros might have used finer sanding and forming files but I'm saying what we did not what was right way. Still have a 66 Triumph with a tank dent repaired in the mid-80's that hasn't failed.

    Those bars were also common in radiator repair. I have some of those Hewett Detroit thin bars I checked what they are. Look for a number on that thin bar. Might be a single number the tin percentage or a pair of numbers with a slash for tin and lead E.G 20 or 38/62 I think I see a 40 on the thin bar.

    The larger stuff without numbers I have found to be mostly 10% tin Lowest I recall seeing for highly formed "nicer" bar has been 30% tin up to 60/40 but really high tin has a very smooth surface. Casts really really well when they make the bars. It was also the "good stuff" so it would be generally marked.

    No matter how you slice it you got a heck of a deal. Anytime you can get solder for scrap lead prices it is time to break that "mad money" out of the back of the wallet and snatch it up.
    Last edited by RogerDat; 05-20-2020 at 11:13 AM.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    Body solder also has lower tin versions in the 5 and 10 percent. One had to use high tin alloy to "tin" the surface to be filled, then could use lower tin as filler. Needed an alloy that you could keep in a putty like stage to push out and fill the dent. Worked it with a torch and wood pushers called paddles wiped in bees wax to keep them sliding across the lead.

    Used it on motorcycles back in the 80's and done right the vibrations would not ever shake the patch out and it didn't soak up moisture swell and crack either. Hit with 80 grit to finish shape and skim some thin filler to fill in the scratches. I think the pros might have used finer sanding and forming files but I'm saying what we did not what was right way. Still have a 66 Triumph with a tank dent repaired in the mid-80's that hasn't failed.

    Those bars were also common in radiator repair. I have some of those Hewett Detroit thin bars I checked what they are. Look for a number on that thin bar. Might be a single number the tin percentage or a pair of numbers with a slash for tin and lead E.G 20 or 38/62 I think I see a 40 on the thin bar.

    The larger stuff without numbers I have found to be mostly 10% tin Lowest I recall seeing for highly formed "nicer" bar has been 30% tin up to 60/40 but really high tin has a very smooth surface. Casts really really well when they make the bars. It was also the "good stuff" so it would be generally marked.

    No matter how you slice it you got a heck of a deal. Anytime you can get solder for scrap lead prices it is time to break that "mad money" out of the back of the wallet and snatch it up.
    The unmarked bars are very flexable, doesn't take much to bend them, the Hewett bar says sp-40x on it.

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  13. #13
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    Always watch those foundry markings cast into the bars!!!!! I bought 10 bars that look JUST like that 2 years ago and they were 100% PURE TIN! Marked as such. $1../pound. Can't beat that with a stick.

    banger

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by bangerjim View Post
    Always watch those foundry markings cast into the bars!!!!! I bought 10 bars that look JUST like that 2 years ago and they were 100% PURE TIN! Marked as such. $1../pound. Can't beat that with a stick.

    banger
    How do I tell without an x-ray gun, i have one bar is a partial that was melted,

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    Last edited by Remiel; 05-21-2020 at 07:10 AM.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Remiel View Post
    The unmarked bars are very flexable, doesn't take much to bend them...
    Remiel,

    That indicates a high lead content such as found with 50/50 solder. Treat it as such when creating your alloys. No way pure tin bars are going to bend easily like that.

    Don
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  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    They look as if they were meant to be held and fed into torch heated work. Nice find.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Remiel View Post
    How do I tell without an x-ray gun, i have one bar is a partial that was melted,

    Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
    You tell by reading the numbers and the info CAST IN the bar. Most, if not ALL, foundries cast their bars with molds that have specific alloy info in the bottoms, so the foundry cast bar has cast-in letters/numbers that CANNOT be confused or questioned. Period. No need for any x-rays there!

    Newer wave solder bars have the alloy mix stamped on the ends with ink.

    This ID can be done generally with FULL UNMELTED foundry bars. If some of the info is melted off, as is sounds like you have, you are up a creek for firm ID. Pay for an x-ray shoot if you want, but doing that for just a small partial bar is kind of a waste of your $$.

    banger

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    The big bars are unmarked,

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  19. #19
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    I stay away from unmarked bars. No way to know what you've got. As previously noted most bars have the alloy cast into them. Two years ago I bought 37 bars of 50/50 for $60. Now that was a steal.

  20. #20
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    50/50, 50/50, 50/50, 50/50, oh and did I say 50/50.

    Don
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check