using thin aluminum sheet for interiors, 'tin', in 1/24 cars

[fiatboy]

Are there any tutorials out there on this technique?  What do you cut the Al sheet with?  What glue?  Thanks

[Foghorn Leghorn]

We used to use a guillotine paper cutter on the thin stuff like .015" and thinner. It had been modded with a brake to hold the sheet in place while it was being cut. It worked great!

A sturdy pair of scissors should work well, too, but you'll have to flatten the piece after the cut. A hard roller on a flat surface oughta do it.

[TarheelRick]

Which ever way you cut it (no pun intended) be very careful handling the cut edge, it will be either sharp and jagged or just sharp; sort of like juggling double-edge razor blades.

[John Pol]

I use soda cans for my metal work

[peteski]

Aluminum is a soft metal.  Thin sheet like soda cans or disposable baking sheets can easily be cut with regular scissors. Even the slightly thicker aluminum flashing can be cut with scissors (although it requires more effort).  But (as said earlier), be careful as the edges are very sharp.

[89AKurt]

My favorite aluminum plate is used for printing newspapers.  It's been decades since I got some, so don't know if you can still go to a printer and ask to buy a sheet.  It's great for bending, easy to drill small holes in.  I've tried the flashing, it's thicker, and it will break when bent at 90º, a little harder to drill tiny holes in.  I don't like soda/beer can aluminum, it springs back into shape, is too thin for my taste.  My two cents.

[peteski]

Yes the soda can aluminum is very springy (tempered?).  The disposable baking sheets are much easier to deal with, but still have some nice stiffness to them.

[Straightliner59]

I use aluminum flashing for most of my sheet work...

[jchrisf]

Anybody know where to get this embossing tin Clay is showing in his video at 9:54?  I can't find it anywhere... maybe it has a different name?

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by jchrisf

[Straightliner59]

5 minutes ago, jchrisf said:

Anybody know where to get this embossing tin Clay is showing in his video at 9:54?  I can't find it anywhere... maybe it has a different name?

 

It's probably what Hobby Lobby sells under the Maid-O-Metal brand. They call it tooling aluminum. It has a ton of great uses!

[fiatboy]

Wow, thanks for the great response!

[Straightliner59]

On 8/23/2021 at 8:03 PM, 89AKurt said:

 I've tried the flashing, it's thicker, and it will break when bent at 90º, a little harder to drill tiny holes in.

That can be eliminated with annealing. I love to work with flashing! I've found the most difficult part of working with  it, is sanding off the plastic coating. That's a pain!

Edited August 26, 2021 by Straightliner59

[peteski]

21 minutes ago, Straightliner59 said:

That can be eliminated with annealing. I love to work with flashing! I've found the most difficult part of working with  it, is sanding off the plastic coating. That's a pain!

I guess there is flashing and there is flashing.

The stuff I bough (IIRC, at Home Depot, but about 20 years ago) came in rectangles  about 12" long and do not have any coating - just bare aluminum.

[Straightliner59]

28 minutes ago, peteski said:

I guess there is flashing and there is flashing.

The stuff I bough (IIRC, at Home Depot, but about 20 years ago) came in rectangles  about 12" long and do not have any coating - just bare aluminum.

The sheets I have are 5"X7". Step flashing. I got so many of them that I haven't even looked at others, since. ? That was 17 or 18 years ago, now.

[fiatboy]

Again, thank you so much.