Sheet aluminum?

[PowerHaus930]

Has anyone ever used sheet aluminum (the kind that comes in rolls at Home Depot) for wheel covers or any other body mods? Its kind of thin but i think it would do the job.

[lunarhighway]

i have used it althoug it's no longer on the car, but it was on for quite some time



the trick is to fold up the edges as in a real "tray" this will reinforce the otherwise floppy material... getting thin sheet, will have the added benefit these folds can be made by hand over a table edge.

one downside was it used to rattle when i slammed my door... making the car sound cheap... on the road it performed great and appart from dirt looked the same as when i put it on.

i have replaced in with a coroplast version now, basically cause i found a bigger sheet of that, but i'm thinking about reusing the original tray to extend the curent one, as it will be closer to the exhoust and engine (heat).

[heumi12345]

Yes, why not!
I am using sheets of aluminium that's been used for offset printing. A newspaper printing plant uses tons of it... and has lots of wasted material. This is probably the same type.
I degrease it with a diluant, then i glue it with a polyurethane glue.

See one of my pics: an exhaust shielding glued with black PU glue.

Good luck and go on!

[Bicycle Bob]

The printing press plates I'm familiar with are thin and hard, whereas flashing is thicker, but as soft as possible. It's job is to lay on a surface and not crack. However, I have used it to replace part of a rusted fender, and it worked well. I bent the exposed edges, and put crimps in one flange to produce a curve.

[davidgrey50]

I'm planning an aluminum aerocap for my 2004 Dodge Dakota. Aluminum sheet is strong, light, easy to shape and fasten with ordinary tools, weatherproof, doesn't need filling and painting, and looks way cool.

The idea is to make it in three sections - two triangular side panels permanently attached, and a removable centre panel. The side panels will have a slight curve to match the sides of the cab and to prevent flapping. The large centre section will we curved to match the roof, and sloped around the magic 11 degree mark. Light aluminum angle along panel edges will add strength and provide attaching and mating surfaces. One nicely shaped wooden former against the cab should be the only non-aluminum part.

In theory, should be piece o' cake. In practice...