Chemetal - anybody used it?

[Tackett]

The teardrop I'm building will be spending most of its time in very dusty, alkali desert conditions (when it isn't in the garage at home).

I'm afraid that the mill finish aluminum will quickly look like garbage. Scratched, corroded, dented garbage.

Does anybody have any experience with Chemetal for use on the outside of a trailer?

http://www.chemetalco.com/700.htm

[halfdome, Danny]

Tackett, I personally haven't used it on a teardrop but I've toyed with the idea of using the Wilsonart metal laminate. It's quite a bit more expensive than mill finish aluminum and comes in a cardboard box that is an extra charge.

Ed Ester who has made 43 teardrops in the Seattle area has the Wilsonart anodized aluminum on his personal teardrop and it looks terrific. I'll see if I can post a picture of it later. It has a beautiful brushed texture to it and looks great after about 2 years.

My experience with laminate interior metals has been with store fixtures (Cabinet Shops) and the manufacturers do not recommend it for exterior applications. You'll have to make your own decision on that.

It's very thin and I would most definitely glue it down with contact cement. Danny

[halfdome, Danny]

Here's Ed's teardrop. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's glued on to plywood. Danny

[Tackett]

Beautiful! Thanks for the pictures.

[Ageless]

After reading the tech data; it's not for exterior use; will likely scratch easily; not made for horizontal apps.

[Tackett]

After reading the tech data; it's not for exterior use; will likely scratch easily; not made for horizontal apps.

I think it would be a tougher finish than mill aluminum.

How happy are people with mill finish aluminum in harsh environments?

[rainjer]

After reading the tech data; it's not for exterior use; will likely scratch easily; not made for horizontal apps.

I think it would be a tougher finish than mill aluminum.

How happy are people with mill finish aluminum in harsh environments?

It is not "tougher" that mill finish aluminum in my opinion. If you scratch it you can not repair it. The layer of aluminium is very thin. It also would depend on the alloy of the mill finish aluminum. If you wnet 6061 it would be soft. If you went 7075 it would be harder. Most of what you see is 5052. It also depends on the temper of the aluminum.

Jeremy

[tk]

I've used it on countertops. Does scratch very easily. I wouldn't even think about using it outside.

Best,
Tom

[Tackett]

I've used it on countertops. Does scratch very easily. I wouldn't even think about using it outside.

Best,
Tom

Thanks for the info!

[steve smoot]

Formica makes a laminate called "color core" that is about 1/16" thick and the core is the same color as the surface.

Color Core is not available in Aluminum finish, but there are several colors.

Just another option for you..

Steve

[halfdome, Danny]

Speaking of laminate, here's another one of Ed's teardrops with wood grained plam.
Ed uses the gloss finish. This one is about 3 years old and still looks great. Danny

[madjack]

...to protect your mill finish Al http://www.sharkhide.com/sharkhide_metal_protectant.htm I've not used myself BUT it is a highly though of product on aluminum fishing boat forums...we do have member here who has used it and I hope to get a report on how it is doing during this summer...keep in mind, plain ol' mill finish AL will scratch easily...you can almost "look" a scratch into it and it will weather/oxidize without some sort of protectant on it...Steve(sonnetpro) beach camps regularly and uses an anodized AL he got from www.saf.com and it has held up very well to the salt environment.....
madjack

[kennyrayandersen]

After reading the tech data; it's not for exterior use; will likely scratch easily; not made for horizontal apps.

I think it would be a tougher finish than mill aluminum.

How happy are people with mill finish aluminum in harsh environments?

It is not "tougher" that mill finish aluminum in my opinion. If you scratch it you can not repair it. The layer of aluminium is very thin. It also would depend on the alloy of the mill finish aluminum. If you wnet 6061 it would be soft. If you went 7075 it would be harder. Most of what you see is 5052. It also depends on the temper of the aluminum.

Jeremy

The 5052-T32 or T34 is about as structural as it gets unless you want to start paying for aircraft-grade structural sheet. Both 2024-T3 and 7075 -T76 etc. (there are a million of them) cost WAY more than the 5052. Additionally, the formability of the 7075-T6/T76 is very low, so forget about bending it -- it would be very difficult to form at home. Anywaym if you got the 5053 it would probably hold up OK (I'm guessing based on strength). I'm pretty sure it is one of the better cosmetic allows that still has decent strength. It fairly easy to find also. (I found that out since I was looking to form a car body out of it)