Everything i need to know about Aluminum?

okay so now i got all the WC parts for my rig, i am motivated again to get my case project going again, cause now i know where i can put the WC parts and such.


So , with that, the ideas i had involved some custom work, making some walls and vents in the case and mounts for harddrives and such..


so i needed to ask from the pro's and experienced people out there.. things i need to know about aluminum..

• What type of aluminum would be good to work with inside a case? are there diff gauges, i assume, and thickness et cetera?
  
• is all aluminum equal when it comes to painting? they all need to same prep work done before hand?
  
• What tools work best for cutting, bending , attaching aluminum? (i may be able to get a welder from my landlord but am thinking more rivet style, or are there other options?

All input is appreciated, i plan to take my case apart this week once my other new mobo arrives.

Mr.Guvernment said:

[*]is all aluminum equal when it comes to painting? they all need to same prep work done before hand?

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be careful with any aluminum when it comes to painting, be gentle with it, it can bend easily and under heat it can warp. i'm not sure if this goes for any gauges, but keep that in mind when paining your panels if you don't dig into it you should be ok though.


what i've seen online is its all key in preparation, if you dont prep and clean your surfaces correctly you may develop bubbles in result.

ya that seems to be the tough part is the painting, trying to think of any other materials that could be used for custom hardrive bays and such..

Mr.Guvernment said:

ya that seems to be the tough part is the painting, trying to think of any other materials that could be used for custom hardrive bays and such..

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it depends, you could powder coat them

What type? If you have a choice in alloys you should get 6061-T6. It's the cheapest and will be strong enough for any case work. Try not to get any thing that bends easy as that softer alloy will be more likely to scratch and dent and less likely to hold it's shape. Lets face it you will get what ever you can find most likely at the local hardware store. Thickness minim should be .040 thousand, .060 would be better.

Painting, use a etching primer under your top coat. Aluminum must be free of all oils (like from your fingers). Any type of problem with the primers appearance will not be covered up buy the topcoat get the primer right and the top coat will be really nice.

Attaching aluminum, well bolt's screws and pop rivets are all good. Welding is hard and technically 6061 will be the most wildly available weldable type of aluminum.

Material Gage's
http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/biophysics/technotes/fabric/sheet_metal.htm

thank you Mr.DLucey!