Don
I skinned the J2 with I.2mm aluminium 5005 H32 (I think!). Same material all
over.
Whatever you use will work-harden as you form it and will need to be
repeatedly annealed to correct this. I anneal with a propane torch - You can
use oxy but I find it too drastic because of the small, very hot flame. A
way to avoid overheating the alum (which doesn't change color before
melting) is to scribble on the area with a piece of soap, then heat until
the soap mark turns brown. Primitive but effective.
The only part that is difficult is the top edge from the door post back to
the tank. You will need to use the absolute minimum amount of material in
the return, anneal a lot, and use wooden mallets (metal hammers will bruise
the skin too much. At least two mallets: cylindrical head and teardrop head.
Having said all that, in the thirty years since I did that skinning job,
I've learned a couple of things. Firstly, alum is not as easy to paint as
steel; secondly it doesn't rust but it does acquire fatigue cracks. These
have appeared in the skin at the thinnest section of the wooden body, near
to the bottom door hinge. If it rained much in Sydney I might be worried
about water getting in through there.
I've skinned a car in steel since then, and really it's no harder to do than
with alum. In some ways it's easier as the skin thickness for steel is only
1mm. I'm just starting on the TC body and that will be steel.
You pay your money and you take your choice . . .
Regards
Dave Dwyer
J2, TA, TC
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