Do not heat 2000 series aluminum with a torch! It will become incredibly brittle after cooling. Only 7000 series aluminum can be heated with a torch without excessive damage. 2000 series is used in the Airstreams sheet metal.
-----Original Message-----
From: Susi
and John Burchard
To: airstream@airstream.net
Date: Tuesday, February 02, 1999 9:21 PM
Subject: Re: [airstream] To J.Weston: Repairing dents in skin
>Kurt Geisel wrote:
>
>> My understanding is that such repairs aren't commonly made. If it's
a
>> shallow, smooth dent, they can try to pull it out with a suction
cup. If
>> it's crumpled, they look to replace the segment which is a very
expensive
>> operation. Now I'm not sure why... it's a fairly thin guage of aluminum
>> which might have something to do with it. It used to be, after all
that
>> people would hand-hammer aluminum car bodies. But then I guess you
need the
>> forms on which to do that (and the car bodies were much smaller
scale).
>
>Others will know more about this than I. But one of the problems with
hammering
>out aluminum or aluminum alloy panels is that the material "work hardens"
and
>becomes brittle. So you have to heat it with a torch from time to
time
>(carefully, the stuff will burn if you get it too hot!) and anneal
it to get it
>back into a workable state. Otherwise it will crack, or worse.
>
>I don't think this is for the faint of heart, nor for those who don't
know
>exactly what they're doing.
>
>John
>
>Susi and John Burchard
>Tepe Gawra Salukis
>saluqi@ix.netcom.com