I have to do the usual body work on my mark2 S type. Do most people lead their cars or do most bog now? Am I doing it a dis service or lowering resale value by bogging

 

Leading is the proper way to do it, and will last much longer than "flop". Of course you will need to use some stopper to get the final surface right for painting. Will it affect value ? Don't know,maybe not, as most people nowadays don't even know about body lead

 

I would lead it as I did that on my 3.,8s and my 240z. What I would recommend that in my opinion increases the value of any of these or other old cars is to completely strip the undercarriage to bare metal (bead blast if possible) and then apply Por-15 metal prep & chassis black undercoating after you use modern 3M seam sealers. This way the old school metals and body are rust free and protected which many put increase value as people often leave out that extra work which will often result in redoing the body later at some point due to rust coming back, etc.

 

Restoration, lead
modified, good bodywork and mud
lead is hard, costly and has its own problems(look under your old lead)
In the hundreds of cars I have built and owned this question never came up.
( mostly hot rods)

 

Sorry Blurooster I did not fully understand your post. What is Mud lead (BOG?). Are you recommending bogging only as the lead cause galvanic corrosion.

 

Thanks for your endless advice Fraser. We would be lost without it. Does the steel rust under the lead? What is the difference between flop and stopper?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong........

Oz terminology - Bog/Flop = plastic filler, Stopper = blade putty.

Plastic filler usually leaves imperfections after sanding - air bubbles, scratches etc
Blade putty useful for filling these prior to applying primer/surfacer.

I would not have thought steel under lead would rust - it would need moisture & air to produce that cursed ferric oxide.

 

Sorry guys, I forget we are International. Mud is a term we in the south use for plastic filler. Bondo is a company name also used. I had never heard of Flop or Bog before this site. Blade putty is called glazing putty by 3M here.
I have removed a lot of lead, repaired the rust and replaced with plastic filler. I have seen many old body men with lead poisoning from handling lead for too many years.
Really to lazy to learn the methods of "leading"

 

If it were me, I'd put body lead back where body lead was originally placed. The lead is chemically bonded to the steel and no rusting takes place underneath the lead unless it comes through from the other side.

If you look at a Mark 2 shell, you can work out where lead is located by the absence of seams where you would expect them to be. The front wings are leaded at the scuttle, the sills, (USA=rocker panels)and at the radiator grill end top and bottom. If you wonder where the others are just ask yourself "how did they join this up ?" Answer it was spot welded then covered with body lead. It was a common technique for almost the whole of the 20th century and car body men learnt it as part of their trade training. Plastic filler will not take vibration and can fall out or crack.

Of course, all the old lead loading men are retired or dead now, so one has to learn from books !! The last time I saw them in action was on the XJ12 body line at Castle Bromwich in the 80s. They were all grey and white haired men then !!

Does it matter ? I suppose not, but if it were my car, I'd want it done as Jaguar intended.