A lost art?
 

A master demonstrates:

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Nah, they've just all gone mad.

I do suspect that most of the recently made "lead sleds" could more accurately be called "bondo sleds".

Exactly. I'm not sure I'm down with using a fan to blow away lead fumes. :D

I went to one of those custom car shows at the Expo center.
Chip Foose was there, so was Gene Winfield.
Foose had a line of 50 people that wanted an autograph.

I stood and talked to Winfield for about a half an hour; I don't think anyone else even knew him. I felt really bad for the guy because he's one of the masters responsible for laying all of the track for all the others. I hope I didn't telegraph my feelings of sadness; I just listened to all his stories of the glory days and thanked him for his time and shook his hand. One of my best days.

Not sure I would ever attempt to use lead in bodywork, but it was interesting to see him do it.

Everyday is a school day. What a cool guy

Well, it's certainly not going to have rust coming up through it.

I remember many years ago when Rod Emory was still working with his dad, Gary, out of his shop in McMinnville, OR. A bunch of us stopped by to hang out with them for the day on one of our multi day tours. Rod was kind enough to give us a demonstration on leading pretty similar to the one Mr. Winfield gives.

It turns, out, though, that the original factory leading used on 356's was the bane of his existence. Porsche apparently used an acid based flux, which over time wreaks havoc on the steel underneath. Melting it off would always reveal significant corrosion underneath. Acid based fluxes are still used for soldering some wiring applications and such, but they have been largely replaced with rosin based fluxes.

As far as lead exposure, I, for one, think most of the fears are ungrounded. In a wide open garage like the one seen in the video, with just that little fan going, he is in no danger.

I have cast literally tens of thousands of lead bullets in my lifetime. I wear gloves and eye protection, but have never worn a respirator. I just open both garage doors and place a fan on the far side from them on my workbench, pretty much what he is shown doing here. I get tested every year as a part of my annual physical. Never so much as any hint of a problem, even after 40 plus years of doing this.