To Bondo or Lead

[AussieinBC]

Guys,

I will be painting my 1980 Special tank soon and I want a complete flat, no badge look. I was wondering if I was to fill the voids behind the yamaha badge with Bondo (We call it BOG) or should I do a little old school work and fill it with Lead.

I have watched 100's of old Hot rod resto videos and How tos, and had a look on you tube etc. It would be something I would like to try, but have had nil exposure to it over the years, I guess, Im asking would anyone else try this, or just stick to the bondo??

 

[Word Man]

I would use a good grade of Gorilla Hair, followed by a good grade of body plastic to finish it up. Lead is great, but if you don't know what you're doing, it can allow rust to form underneath it.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

I haven't seen lead bodywork since I was about 7.
After years of using Bondo, I switched to SnowWhite. Less shrinkage...

 

[grizld1]

One problem with filling a motorcycle tank is that when it warms up and cools down, it expands and contracts more than most fillers (one reason why Bondo fills tend to develop edge cracks). I've used Metal-2-Metal aluminum based filler from US Chemical for years; it expands and contracts with the tank. It's easy to work with, and I have 8 year old repairs in a black tank that are still invisible. If you can't get it locally, it's available from Eastwood.

 

[fredintoon]

- - - I was wondering if I was to fill the voids behind the yamaha badge with Bondo (We call it BOG) or should I do a little old school work and fill it with Lead. - - -

Hi Aussie,
the ol' tiger torch, resin flux and melted wheel weights trick, eh?
Nah, even if you don't set your garage on fire or get sick from breathing the fumes it'll be a bitch to get the area behind the badge bracket clean enough for the lead to stick properly.
Go with grizld's aluminum-filled plastic.

 

[AussieinBC]

All good, that was the only real issue I could see, was getting in behind the badge mount and cleaning the area sufficently. Ill stick with the examples given, thanks guys