How many cans

[Leatherneck]

Floor will be bare aluminum. I don’t see a need to paint that unless somebody has a real good reason why.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Floor will be bare aluminum. I don’t see a need to paint that unless somebody has a real good reason why.

Which alloy are you going to use: 5000 series, 6000 or the structural 7000 series. It might make a difference (don't have my books with me) or with all the grids, it may not matter.

Lee

[jt1967]

Floor will be bare aluminum. I don’t see a need to paint that unless somebody has a real good reason why.

Which alloy are you going to use: 5000 series, 6000 or the structural 7000 series. It might make a difference (don't have my books with me) or with all the grids, it may not matter.

Lee

David i used 1/8" 6061 for my flooring

[CentralWAbaja]

Floor will be bare aluminum. I don’t see a need to paint that unless somebody has a real good reason why.

Which alloy are you going to use: 5000 series, 6000 or the structural 7000 series. It might make a difference (don't have my books with me) or with all the grids, it may not matter.

Lee

David i used 1/8" 6061 for my flooring

Me too! I then painted it with appliance epoxy black spray paint. Only because I wanted to suck the light out of the cab as much as I could.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Marine and airplane skins often use a 5000 series but 6000 series like 6061 is a good choice also.

Lee

[Leatherneck]

6000 series, for this trip using what came with it.

[PhillipM]

I meant the floor around where you're painting the frame from the overspray

[Ol'fogasaurus]

If you are planning on using 6061 I would not recommend 6061-0 (see below) -0 is a soft condition but for tight radius bending radiuses it is good but then you have heat treat it before using it or let it age harden to a stronger condition (something similar to -T3 [again, see below])

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6061_aluminium_alloy

Like I said, it has been a long time since I designed to AL use.

Lee

[PhillipM]

I always use 6802-t6 (similar to your 6061) or 5083 h32 for floors.

Both pretty stiff and decent for wear, 5083 is a little more formable if you are bending edges onto it, and a bit more corrosion resistant if it's an issue at all.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6082_aluminium_alloy

Not one I have ever designed to but it is interesting. 5000 series is more corrosion resistant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_alloy

This talks about the different AL alloys and their properties and strength. If you are going to play with AL then it is best to know the ins and outs at least at a starting level.

Lee

[Leatherneck]

Good info guys, thank you!

[BAJA-IT]

Is it painted yet?
If so, how many cans did it take?

[Leatherneck]

Is it painted yet?
If so, how many cans did it take?

Not completed, 7 cans in so far. Front end and rear are painted but middle not so much. Still piecing it together.

[dustymojave]

Eleventeen cans

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That term is under my copyright. Along with "forty-eleven". Been using both since early childhood and always felt that I invented those terms. You just MIGHT have invented them on your own. But I'm older (bad thing in some ways, good in others ).

While my estimate was that the job requirement would fall between those 2 numbers, I was also going to suggest that it would need a few more than readily available.

Actually I prefer to use a paint sprayer. I painted the cagework on my Baja using Rustoleum paint as comes in quart cans. IIRC, 3 quarts for my Baja. I thin it 1:1 with mineral spirits. Far easier to get a good smooth finish. Also can get less waste by setting the sprayer to make a narrow spray and using a relatively low air pressure. Perhaps could be better at that using an HVLP sprayer. I've done repairs over the last 11 years on that Baja with a rattle can and it NEVER comes out nearly as well as what I applied using the sprayer.

My spray booth was a 10' x 20' shade canopy with plastic film from the Home Depot paint department taped to the tube frame for the canopy with a box fan for exhaust. Water on the concrete driveway to keep paint from sticking.

I prefer to NOT use primer for offroad cars. The Rustoleum is good at sticking to steel. Plus, the primer is a softer material under the harder shell of the finish paint. When a stone or whatever strikes the hard shell with a soft material underneath, the hard shell flexes and breaks. While the same strike on just the hard finish on steel, the hard finish is better supported. Thus it's more durable. A friend who has many years of experience with sprint cars came up with the same conclusion.

[PhillipM]

Depends massively on the primer you use, I used epoxy on mine and the primer is still there where a lot of paint is gone.