Experience with Aluminum?

Aluminum, being metal, will not change dimension due to changes in moisture/humidity. Wood does change due to changes in moisture in the environment.

On the other hand, metals expand and contract with changes in temperature. In general this should not be a problem in a normal home or office environment.

Good Luck!

Be Careful!

Herb

-- Herb, Florida - Here's why I close most messages with "Be Careful!" http://lumberjocks.com/HerbC/blog/17090

It won’t move but it will tarnish to an ugly gray and rub off black when handled unless sealed with something. Wax???

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

HerbC – Thanks for the info. The box will be moving to different locations both indoors & out. Expansion is my main concern in movement. Any idea how much room to leave for expansion? The aluminum piece is 1/16” X 3 3/8” X 18”, I wonder if 1/16” all around will suffice.

gfadvm – I didn’t consider the tarnishing. Thanks for the heads up!

-- I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

don’t worry about expansion and contraction. It wont move in normal tempertures. In fact i wouldnt leave any room you don’t want it to rattle. Put some silicone in the groove or something.

-- My philosophy: Somewhere between Norm and Roy

Aluminum can be a challenge to get a finish on.
An alkyd poly urethane might be OK because it stays fairly flexible but it’ll still allow O2 to transpire through the film and that’ll allow oxidization of the aluminum.

The first mole layer of Aluminum tends to never actually hold still. which fact is part of why it has historically presented finishing problems.
Anodizing and iriditing aluminum may offer the best potential for a finish.

If it’s shiny you want, I can’t help you having never actually tried to maintain a high polish on aluminum

-- When the moderator chooses sides, his site sucks.

My friend the metals guy says you never see the real aluminum because it starts to oxidize instantly when exposed.

I have lacquered aluminum (after RO sanding, which is interesting) but only for indoor applications.

Are there other plated materials that will give you the look you want, in exchange for some more weight?

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

I would put it in with sillicone fairly tight. It shouldn’t move much. I have lacquered, waxed and shellaced aluminum at different times (all in wood jewelry). I sand it a bunch to give it a smooth grey color, metalic but not shiny.Good luck.

-- ----- www.KNWoodworking.com ----- --

I have several aluminium things that sit outdoors and all I used were aircraft or automotive clear coat. Prep the surface according to the can and spray.

Thanks for the replies & help. I now have the box together am working on completion. I have been reading car enthusiast forums & there are MANY opinions & products to keep aluminum from dulling. I guess I will experiment with a few of these ideas & see how it goes : )

-- I intend to live forever. So far, so good.