Does aluminium have directional grain?

Finishes, paints and coatings

Does aluminium have directional grain?

Postby Dickie English » Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:43 pm

Hi Guys
I have a question,does aluminium sheet mill finish .08mm thickness have a grain or direction similar to wood.The reason i ask is when polishing, some areas shine much better than other areas.Should i be looking for a grain pattern or is it technique or products.

Regards Dick
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Re: Does aluminium have directional grain?

Postby Wolfgang » Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:09 pm

There isn't a "grain" in the material. Depending on the finish there will be a polish or linish grain. If it's been anodised don't polish it!! you'll remove the anodising and ruin the finish.
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Re: Does aluminium have directional grain?

Postby rowerwet » Fri Oct 03, 2014 4:43 pm

Aluminum sheets have a grain, it is the direction the metal was stretched in the rolling mills as it was squished to dimension. It will be more of an issue if you are bending it, I'm not sure about polishing.
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Re: Does aluminium have directional grain?

Postby dmdc411 » Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:09 am

From what I remember from Aviation school, there is a grain direction it is as stated the direction the sheet was stretched into its sheet form. And it only matters for bending in tight radiuses. If you were in fabricating of structural components, a drawing or print may call out grain direction
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Re: Does aluminium have directional grain?

Postby Tripmaker » Sat Dec 06, 2014 3:23 pm

The doors on my TD are symmetrical, 36 x 36 with a 36" radius. When I assembled my doors, I unintentionally matched the left skin to the right door, and right skin to the left door. The result is that the grain, for lack of better term, is 90 degrees off from the sides of the trailer making them look like a different color. So yes, there is a grain.
Jim



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