I am working on a John Deere 330 grille shell. Had it blasted (aluminum oxide) and when I picked it up the blaster guy said that the shell had metallic filler on it in some spots
and he did not blast it out thinking I would want to keep it in there. I assume that it is lead, it is stuck good, and has been feathered out nice. Only problem (that I know of)
is that it has some small pits in it. When I picked it up I noticed around the pits were dark spots, like something was leeching out from them. I thought it was maybe some
contamination of some sort and I would give it a quick blast with my blaster to clean it up before applying SPI epoxy. By the time I was able to get around to sanding and blasting
the shell the spots had gotten a little larger and there were more of them. I blasted them lightly with sand (sorry, Shine) and that cleared them up but before I could get it back in
the shop, maybe 3 minutes, the darkness had already returned. You could almost see it forming, as if it is 'leaking' out of the pits. What is it?
I have no experience with lead so I am not familiar with what is causing this. The paint that was on the grille shell showed no signs of failure in that area that I recall.
I feel strongly that I should remove the lead but want others experienced opinions. Also, if it needs to come off, what is the best method to remove it and clean the area to
prevent future problems.
Oh yeah, by the way, it is not a filler like All-metal or metal-to-metal. When it is sanded it looks just like shiny metal.
Help me out, old timers!!! Thanks
and he did not blast it out thinking I would want to keep it in there. I assume that it is lead, it is stuck good, and has been feathered out nice. Only problem (that I know of)
is that it has some small pits in it. When I picked it up I noticed around the pits were dark spots, like something was leeching out from them. I thought it was maybe some
contamination of some sort and I would give it a quick blast with my blaster to clean it up before applying SPI epoxy. By the time I was able to get around to sanding and blasting
the shell the spots had gotten a little larger and there were more of them. I blasted them lightly with sand (sorry, Shine) and that cleared them up but before I could get it back in
the shop, maybe 3 minutes, the darkness had already returned. You could almost see it forming, as if it is 'leaking' out of the pits. What is it?
I have no experience with lead so I am not familiar with what is causing this. The paint that was on the grille shell showed no signs of failure in that area that I recall.
I feel strongly that I should remove the lead but want others experienced opinions. Also, if it needs to come off, what is the best method to remove it and clean the area to
prevent future problems.
Oh yeah, by the way, it is not a filler like All-metal or metal-to-metal. When it is sanded it looks just like shiny metal.
Help me out, old timers!!! Thanks