How to Lead loading

In our bodywork series, we’ve tackled replacing the rear quarter on a Mk1 Granada and in so doing, uncovered one of the traditional areas of the craft that you’d think was forgotten — lead-loading — simply because it’s old-school. The seams where one panel joins another often deliberately had a step in them, which was filled with lead and blended in. You’d think that with modern body filler being so good, the practice has been relegated to history but it appears that some things were simply right in the first place and there’s still no proper substitute.

Lead is still extremely good because it’s flexible and can cope with the slight amounts of movement that could crack body filler which,