Back to Square One Looking for Aluminum

[Jim Marshall]

Well we are back to square one looking for aluminum. The place we ordered ours from fell through and didn't have it even after we paid for it and they said they can't get mill aluminum. We have been doing some reading about the anodized aluminum. Is the aluminum you folks used anodized. They said regular aluminum will not hold up for many years unless it is anodized. What are ya'lls thought on that?

We are ready for the aluminum on our tear now and have a couple of pretty days and now can't find any in our area.

[mikeschn]

Have you already talked to SAF?

Mike...

[Chip]

Jim what size and guage are you looking for,,,,

chipper

[Sonetpro]

I ordered mine from SAF I got anodized for protection. We camp at the beach alot. They have free shipping....

[Clancy Courtney]

Jim, I used this company http://www.alumapanel.com/ They deliver and have location near Atlanta. Another source you may try is http://www.loxcreen.com/ Again an Atlanta location but if all else falls.
Have you tried a local sign dealer or supplier?
Good luck,
Clancy

[Jim Marshall]

Mike, we did check SAF, but our problem lies in our budget. I guess we chose aluminum with a blind eye not realizing all the different types and grades it comes in, not to mention thickness.

After reading about the anodized aluminum and the protecting qualities it has, that is the way to go, it seems. The regular mill finish spots easily and we sure don't want that. Now if there is a clear protective coating that we could apply to protect the aluminum that would be an answer.

We can find all types of mill finish 4 X 8 locally but not any 5 X 8s. We really don't know which direction to go at this point. We really really do love the aluminum look and are still hopeful we can go this way.

Chip, we really don't know now that we have done some research what we want. We are really depending on you fellows for your advice because you have been there already and know, where we would only be guessing. What we had ordered that didn't happen was .040 mill finish but I don't think it could have been anodized for the price he gave us. We are looking for two sheets 4 X 8 and two sheets 5 X 8.

Sonetpro, that free shipping sure sounds great, thank you for letting us know, we didn't notice that on their website.

Clancy we haven't tried the links you gave us but we will sure check them out. Thanks a bunch.

Fellows, you don't know how much we appreciate you, we really have looked to you in our build so far for advice and procedures and you sure haven't let us down. Thank all of you so much.

[madjack]

Jim, have you checked out local sign shops...also a facility for the repair and manufactur of 18 wheeler trailers should have roll AL in 102" wide by however long...as far as coating, Doug Hodder sprayed his with automotive clearcoat over a product called Bulldog,a paint adhesion product and his scuff finish looks as good as the day he did it...scratches in mill finish and even anodized are a fact of life with an Al clad tear...I am thinking of doing an acid wash and then clearcoating over it
madjack

[Jim Marshall]

Jack, thank you my friend, we finally did locate some 4 X 10 sheets today that were reasonable and bought them. We have a couple of places that look promising for the 5 X 8 foot aluminum so we are happy campers once again. We like the idea of the clear coat, that sounds like the way to go. We even got one side of the aluminum on this afternoon and it is looking pretty good, even if I did goof a couple of times. Here are a few pictures of what we did today.







Sorry about the quality of the pictures, the sun was starting to go down.

[mikeschn]

That the second time today you guys are apologizing for the lack of sunshine.

Myself, I prefer photos taken in cloudy weather. That way there are not so many harsh shadows in the picture, and I can see more detail.

You can even do one better and turn your flash on. Voila, even more detail!

Mike...