Belly skin and Banana Wrap Alloy
 

I just got my aluminum for the belly skins and banana wraps and I thought I was getting 3003, .032 thick sheets. It turns out they delivered two sheets of 6061-T6 which is fine for the flat belly skins but is going to be too springy for the curved sections. Do I need to tell them to come pick this stuff up or can I use it?

Perry

6061-T6 is far superior to the 3003-H?. It will work just fine.

Will it work for Banana wraps? What about corrosion resistance? I know it is alot stronger but this is a low strength application.

Not the corner wraps but the sides ones.

Perry

6061-T6 has superior corrosion resistance compared to the original 2024-T3. It is an excellent choice for the belly pan

Do I need something softer for the curved sections is what I am asking?

Perry

Perry.

Banana wraps are on the corners.

Underbelly wrap is on the sides.

You can use what you have, just make sure you paint it with clearcoat or a color.

Andy

Well my 81 has black lower skins anyway. Or some sort of silver black stuff. You probably know better than me. What color should it be. The corners are plastic.

Perry

Perry.

The underbelly and banana wrap paint is a metallic charcoal.

I have the Dupont number, but it's at the office.

Andy

With regards to corrosion resistance, 6061 has very good resistance; it's used extensively for pleasure craft exposed to marine environments. 5000 series are even better....

If you have to sharply bend it, the T6 heat treat has a minimum bend radius of .016 to .048".... it's also quite strong, which is nice for belly pans since there is usually a paucity of fasteners to steel members which leads to localized corrosion & failure.

Note that these alloys have different strengths (how much load they'll take before they deform permanently), but they have the same
"springiness" (force needed to non-permanently bend the material), so
if you could flex 3003 into the shapes needed for the underbelly wrap, the 6061-t6 will do so as well. Having had some of the underbelly loose on the Tin Pickle, I will attest it happily springs back to flat.

- Bart

Well ok I will keep the 6061-T6. I just remember some on here complaining about the T6 temper being to hard to bend. If I were building something that needed strength I would use the 6061-T6. I have worked with some of these alloys before and 7075-T6 and other 7000 series alloys with T6 temper at like watch spring metal.

I used 6061-T6 all the time in billets for machining but I have never used it in the sheet form.

Perry

Yup; if you need to put a permanent bend in it, it's a lot more work that the stock alloys because it's so much stronger. If you don't leave a bend allowance on a sheet metal brake, for example, it will crack when you bend it. Just flexing it to form the gentle underbelly curve is no more difficult with the 6061 than with any other aluminum alloy of the same thickness, though.

- Bart

unbelley wrap
 

how would u ben the unbelly wrap ?

not stirring, I use 5052. It will out live all of us just fine, painted properly, even more.
You got very luck when they sent you the good stuff.

Andy
Did you find the DuPont number for the metallic charcoal?
I have an 85 Sovereign that needs painting of both the underbelly and banana wraps.
Thanks ever so much.
Lee

Lee.

The metallic charcoal color is B 8270, best I remember.

It's in the Centari line of paints.

You must mix it with other stuff as the instructions will tell you.

Then you must clear coat it with Centari clear, not the Airstream stuff.

Andy

Thank you Andy.

Lee.

Sorry, I didn't mention that all the paints are Dupont's.

Andy