Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

[theincredibleneds]

We are currently restoring a 30' Suntracker Party Hut. Our panel rails are in good condition, we are having the hardest time finding rolls of 27" -28" wide rolled painted or colored aluminum to update our look. We are open to any suggestions. Help!

The other thing we are having hard time replacing are the party hut walls which were previously made with a sandwhich foam and vinyl material. If anyone has any suggestions for that, we would appreciate the ideas as well.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

I bought some four-foot widths for the back of the boat in my sig. I bought it from: http://www.whitealuminum.com/showrooms.php. While they are probably not near you, I'm sure they can suggest places closer to you.

 

[newbie4life]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

Perfect, huh? Just over the 24" width that coil stock comes in -- ugh. Ours were 17", and it worked well. Threw in a couple extra bends here and there to give it some additional strength. It would be possible to 'join' with a double hem, but you'd have a seam. Not ideal.

I checked our signage suppliers we buy our aluminum sign blanks from -- they had stuff available, but it wasn't overly cheap (a little heavier than we needed too -- not making an airplane here).

Did you try the pontoonstuff guys?

 

[Blank-N-Ship]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

We are currently restoring a 30' Suntracker Party Hut. Our panel rails are in good condition, we are having the hardest time finding rolls of 27" -28" wide rolled painted or colored aluminum to update our look. We are open to any suggestions. Help!

The other thing we are having hard time replacing are the party hut walls which were previously made with a sandwhich foam and vinyl material. If anyone has any suggestions for that, we would appreciate the ideas as well.

That sounds like something that might be more expensive to ship than it is to buy. If you're local to TN give us a call and we might be able to arrange something. Our rails are usually 30" tall so I think that's about the same on the siding width.

 

[artistwood]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

Not suer if this will help but here goes. I am using 4x8 sheets of aluminum semi trailer siding for the outer skin of the walls. The interior section is 3/4" blue foam with a 3/4" x 3/4 " aluminum square tubing stiffener in the middle of the long sections. The interior wall skin is a fiberglass reinforced pebbly looking white panel from menards. This makes for a strong, light panel that will last indefinitely.
You might want to check for semi trailer parts suppliers close to you for the aluminum panels. AED in indianapolis will cut to length. The panels are 4x10 origionaly but they cut for free. You can also get them in a bunch of colors.Where a splice was needed, I sandwiched a 3/4" x 1/16" length of aluminum across the splice on the inside and spliced behind a vertical bar on the outside. To replace the panels, I cut the lower retaining strip off with a multimaster with a finie saw blade. Just score it, lift it with a putty knife and move back and forth with pliers. It comes off eassily. I used the putty knife to gently lift the upper and end strips after I pulled the old panel. Then I slid the new panel in place and used 1/8" pop rivets every 6" along the bottom. It looks like it was built that way.

One other alternative is to have rails/fences built. There are companies that will build new rails to your specs and can add graphics to boot.
I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you need some more information.
................Bear

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

Last year I hit a very large wave and pushed in my front panel on both sides. I covered the panels with .045 grade alumn.diamond plating.I used 3/16 pop rivits to hold them in place. The panels are 17" high by four ft long. I got the plating at a metal supplier for $14.00 a sheet. Each sheetis 29"x4"'. I also did the corners in the rear the same way. Now I don't have to worry about pier damage to the Alumn.skin.Now I'm easy to spot in the water.

 

[Blank-N-Ship]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

Last year I hit a very large wave and pushed in my front panel on both sides. I covered the panels with .045 grade alumn.diamond plating.I used 3/16 pop rivits to hold them in place. The panels are 17" high by four ft long. I got the plating at a metal supplier for $14.00 a sheet. Each sheetis 29"x4"'. I also did the corners in the rear the same way. Now I don't have to worry about pier damage to the Alumn.skin.Now I'm easy to spot in the water.

Just make sure that they're aluminum rivets and you should be fine with that. Steel or tin-plated rivets will set you up for rust.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Rolls of Colored Aluminum for side panels?

The easiest and cheapest way to change colors is using vinyl stick on panels from your local sign shop. They can also design swirling graphics that stick on.

Last week, a gentleman on our lake had a Scraab boat on a trailer being reconditioned. He was going with a vinyl wrap--over painting his whole hull. Better looking and cheaper way to do the job.