The OFFICIAL Steel vs. Aluminum Fact-Checking Thread
09-05-2018, 12:22 PM
#131
Official HTT Greeter
09-25-2018, 11:31 AM
#132
Senior Member
Well, I have an aluminum jon boat that I use primarily in salt water and I use it a lot. I also encounter a lot of oysters and rocks in the boat. The boat is a 1992 model and is pretty much corrosion free except where the original manufacturer used pressure treated wood in the transom. PT wood is treated with copper so it caused the aluminum to corrode. I repaired that several years ago by simply removing the wood and coating it with epoxy and replacing it, I also cleaned off all the corrosion and treated the aluminum. It is as good as new. Aluminum is not new, it has been around for years and I am sure that Ford has taken into account all that goes along with using it for body panels. I recently purchase a 2018 F-150 XL 4WD and I intend to keep it for at least 20 years, just like my last truck.
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bull_rider (01-18-2020)
09-29-2018, 01:52 AM
#133
ok I understand technology has come a long ways, & now a days theres no way getting around not buying a aluminum vehicle if you want something newer.
though my question is if I buy a aluminum body truck will I need to worry about a hail storm ?
will the new tech alum. body trucks hold up fairly to a hail storm like steel or will I cringe anytime hail is forecasted & expect to make a claim/total loss because now it looks like a golf ball.
though my question is if I buy a aluminum body truck will I need to worry about a hail storm ?
will the new tech alum. body trucks hold up fairly to a hail storm like steel or will I cringe anytime hail is forecasted & expect to make a claim/total loss because now it looks like a golf ball.
09-30-2018, 03:35 PM
#134
Aluminum has been used extensively for decades in many of the items we consider higher end things, from bicycle and motorcycle frames, to cat and truck bodies and other parts, airplanes and helicopters, boats and especially boats used in salt water or for severe duty like running up rock rivers such as jet boats, to engine heads and blocks, and think of the stresses an engine sees. Aluminum costs more than steel which is why it is not more widely used.
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stvfurman (10-01-2018)
10-27-2018, 09:15 PM
#136
10-29-2018, 12:43 PM
#137
This weekend I spoke with a friend of mine that has been building aluminum boats for decades. Isolation or aluminum fasteners are the long term solutions. Quite the list of stories of plastic tubs rotting out bottom of boats that were used as a fish tank, melamine and other board types interacting with aluminum in aluminum boats he has done repair work on.
10-31-2018, 08:36 PM
#138
Here is where Aluminum vs Steel rears it's ugly head. Aluminum tends to hold it's shape, so when hardened aluminum gets a ding it is very difficult to flatten it. With a steel panel, a skilled dent removal guy can massage the panel from the back and remove the dent, and usually without any damage to the paint, but you can't massage aluminum in the same way. Dings are very difficult to remove due to the bounce back, OTOH it is more difficult to ding aluminum as it is with steel.
What your were quoted most likely is to grind away the paint, add some filler, smooth and block and repaint.
Have you tried looking for a ding and dent removal pro? See if you can find a shop who deals with this company, https://www.dentwizard.com/paintless-dent-repair.aspx
Ah I found a dent remover video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6M3p2QDkdc
What your were quoted most likely is to grind away the paint, add some filler, smooth and block and repaint.
Have you tried looking for a ding and dent removal pro? See if you can find a shop who deals with this company, https://www.dentwizard.com/paintless-dent-repair.aspx
Ah I found a dent remover video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6M3p2QDkdc
11-01-2018, 09:36 AM
#140
Pulling dents in aluminum is the way to go, but pushing them out from behind like in steel does not work very well as it will have more distortion. Should see some of the parts we formed for the B-17 using soft hammers and a sand bag. The material really tends to stretch when hitting from behind.