I posted this in TOOLS and FAB, with no response... anyway
I am going to pick up some Aluminum Diamond Plate to Fab some corners, rockers, a frame cover, and fender covers.
What tools are a must? I have a cutting wheel, grinder, and a bigass vice. How can I bend the plate w/o special tools?
What guage DP should I get if their is more than one option?
What is the best way to fasten? Rivets--what size, or bolts?
BTW I am going to paint this stuff black to match jeep, cause I don't want to build a death-ray reflector. Thanks

Bending the plate to fit exact angles is very hard to do without mold or form. You might be able to roll it, but that is a really big special tool. If you have a piece of pipe the right diameter you might be able to use a cutting torch and get the whole plate glowing red at the bend area then force it over.

What do you plan on this plate doing? If you just want the look and minor scratch protection get something thin like 16-18 gauge. If you want it structural, get 1/8 or 3/16. Same goes for fastening. If you just want the look, you can glue it on. If you want it structural, weld or bolt it on with 5/16 hardware.

Sounds like I should just buy the corners, and cut the rest.
The purpose is to cover body damage, a tiny bit of rust bubbling through the paint, and to add a degree of protection from scrapes from trees and rocks. On the frame cover I may mound some small fog lights. What guage Alum. are the pre-fab corners? I would prob. go with that. You wouldn't rivet? Would my 4" cutting wheel do the job? as you can see I'm a noob to fabrication. Thanks

first i would fix the body damage and rust,covering it up does no good .the rust spots will continue to get larger and body damage makes it easier for rust to develop.I know how the northern states are with the salt in winter(i live in new jersey), and when the salt gets behind the armor it will make the rust way worse.
To fix it remove all the rust and if you have a welder or acces to one weld a small piece of sheetmetal behind the hole. Then fill in with some type of filler(preferably fiberglass). let it set up and then sand it until it is smooth and even with the surronding contours of the body.While you are at it remove any dents that will be covered by the armor if you can,if not sand off all the paint and fill them in also.What you want to do next is sand all the paint that will be under the armor to dull it,that gives the new paint (which i will go into shortly)something to bond to.Primer all the filled in spots with several coats(spray bomb will be fine,)when it dries sand it smooth.Now comes the paint,to prevent any rust from starting again use a high quality rust preventing,chemicle resistant paint,hammerite comes to mind.Hammerite is an industrial paint that when dry looks like it has been beaten with a ballpeen hammer.It is chip proof,chemicle resistant,and will not allow any rust to occure(i know from experiance )It is very simple to apply no need for a paint gun you can use a roller,in fact that gives it the beaten look.
I have no idea what gauge the pre fab is,but your 4 inch cutting wheel would be fine.just have extra wheels on hand,a face guard,safteyglasses,and gloves to protect yourself would be wise also.to fasten it on i heard of people using poprivits,sheet meatalscrews and for those with alot of time drilling holes and running bolts through.
if you are not comfortable with bodywork go to a scrapyard and pick up some sheetmetal pieces. they dont have to be very big just roughly 12"x12" or so,large enough to practice filling in dents,or patching holes with a welder.
Good luck on your prodject and keep us informed on how it goes,with pics if possible.

I don't have any rot or holes, I was just going to sand prime and paint the rust spots. Roughly hammer out the body damage to smooth it out, and attach my roadwarrioresc body pannels. I will post pics when I start the project in a couple weeks when i get back from FL. Thanks for the body resto tips

if your rust bubbles are like my rust bubbles on my 89 xj(resembeling boiling water) when you sand them they will be holes.just use a dremel if you have one or can get ahold of one and grind from inside te hole out till you get to "healthy" metal.

go with the perfab corners. if you're covering a rusty area with a panel and are not going to weld scrape the loose paint off and hose the area with lithium grease before installing. it's the easiest way to keep the rust from continuing. optimally you'd want to take it down to bare shiny metal and prime and paint, but if you were that involved you'd probably be using a hammer and dolly instead of patches. use steel rivets/fasteners.

i'll start by saying i'm an old school, cheap ass redneck. with that in mind, i think you're fine with covering some rust. i did it with pre fab corners but my buddy bought a sheet of alum d plate and just bent it around the corners of his fj40 to cover about 50lbs. of bondo. it looked great. it depends on what you want to use your rig for. if it's your primary driver/mall machine/chick magnet/ once in a while wheeler on easy trails rig, fix it right. grind out the rust until there is none left. replace the corners(which are way cheap) if you have to.

if you actually wheel this thing on hard trails, why even put a bunch of cash into sheetmetal? you have the potential to total it on any obstacle. why invest in treating the rust or cutting the spot out and replacing it with new sheetmetal? you will probably break the frame in 1/2 or bash the sheetmetal in until it's not even recognizible as a jeep before the cancer grows past your aluminum rust covers.

here's a pic of my jeep. the corners and rocker covers are just hiding body damage. no structural integrity whatsoever. could i have fixed it right? restored it? yes, i could have but why? i may total it beyond repair before easter. why put all the hours in?

[img][image]http://img494.imageshack.us/img494/4499/picture0063bs.jpg[/img][/image]

Dear ChokeUoutcold;
Bending aluminum plate isn't really all that difficult for the home craftsman if you have a hydraulic press handy. What you will need to do is to locate some 4" OD pipe and some 4.5" ID pipe. I cut mine about 18" long and then split them lengthwise. These will the 2 forms using for bending the 90 degree angles. Then weld a piece thick piece of flat stock to the center of the 4.00" pipe lengthwise about 12" tall and then weld another piece of flat stock to the bottom of the vertical piece, forming an inverted T. This is the stand that you will need when the aluminum bends around the press into a 90. Then I take a sheet of fairly thick rubber and glue it inside of the 4.5" piece down it's length. This is to keep from marring the shiny outer surface of the aluminum while it's being bent. The rest is easy. Just place a length of aluminum flat stock on top of the 4.0" pipe, which is now situated 12" above the bed of the press, and place the 4.5" pipe directly above the 4.0" pipe. Now come down on the 4.5" pipe with the press slowly and the aluminum will bend itself between the 2 pieces of pipe. Cut the aluminum stock long enough to have an 1" or so extra after it's bent, then slap it up to the body, mark the inside of the aluminum where it needs trimming, remove, trim and deburr. And that's all there is to it.
Your friend;
LAMAR

Thanks for the tips Lamar but....
A. I don't have a press
2. I can't weld
D. I manage money for a living and have baby soft hands

Seriously though, it looks like the rust gets ground down primed and painted(nothin pretty, just as a preventative measure) Corners will be bought, the rest fab'd, and I'm thinking rivets. Like I said pics to come