Looking for corrugated metal for scratch building....

bremner Feb 29, 2020

  1. bremner

    bremner Staff Member

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    I have another scratch build coming up, but it is corrugated metal and I really have not seen a realistic material that is as large as I need for a full building...

    What do you guys use?
     
  2. SLSF Freak

    SLSF Freak Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I've seen people use tin foil to great effect. There is a tool that will let you put squares of tin foil on it, then you press the foil into the grooves and your foil looks like corrugated metal. Then they apply a rusting solution to it to weather it, looks great. Maybe you could have such a tool made on say...a laser engraver if you happen to know someone that has one? (y)
     
  3. tracktoo

    tracktoo TrainBoard Member

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    I have used aluminum foil over styrene different times, generally just looking for the metal look. What I used was heavy duty(?) aluminum foil laid on with a film of, get ready, Elmer's glue! I have some trailers that had this applied this way several years ago and they are in perfect shape today.

    It would be very easy to try out a piece on any styrene siding shape to see how it acts. Smoothed in place with fingers or even a soft cloth, gently pushing into details, squeezing the excess out at the perimeter, and finally cleaning off with a damp cloth/ paper towel. Shiny side or dull side up depending on what you're after. Play with it. It works and endures.:cool:
     
  4. Jim Reising

    Jim Reising In Memoriam

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    Take a look at JTT products - they're distributed by MRC. I used their corrugated styrene for the building next to the post office at Caliente - has a corrugated awning around three sides, and I think the JTT worked out well. A picture can be found around page 98 of The Oakville Sub thread...
     
  5. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    My first ebay purchase many years ago was a package of thin corrugated material for N scale roofing. It was not a brand name product at all but I was happy with the results I got with it. This photo shows two of the structures I used it on. Just recently I noticed at the local hobby shop the JTT product that Jim has mentioned and I think it looks quite good.

     
    Kurt Moose likes this.
  6. Joe Lovett

    Joe Lovett TrainBoard Member

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    I've used HO scale corrugated aluminum foil with good results, it gives a little more texture and doesn't look too bad or out of scale. It is a lot easier to find than N scale foil.

    Joe
     
  7. SP-Wolf

    SP-Wolf TrainBoard Supporter

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  8. bremner

    bremner Staff Member

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    Thanks for the hints...but a new problem pops up....I need it to be 8 inches...I guess that I can shrink it down
     
  9. Jim Reising

    Jim Reising In Memoriam

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    IIRC the JTT sheets are about the size of letter paper...
     
  10. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    tracktoo likes this.
  11. tracktoo

    tracktoo TrainBoard Member

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    Just curious, what is the thickness of that pan material?
     
  12. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    About .002-.003" thick.
     
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  13. tracktoo

    tracktoo TrainBoard Member

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    That sounds pretty good. Aluminum foil is about .0005" (a half thousandth). I have also cut up soft drink cans for shim material but don't recall the thickness. It's pretty thin, maybe .005"?
     
  14. dualgauge

    dualgauge TrainBoard Member

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    Can use a file and soft piece of wood. Lay foil on file and burnish with the wood. Then cut to size. Different file give different size corrications.
     
  15. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Yes, if you have a wire toothbrush from harbor freight, you can burnish the thick turkey roaster aluminum lid material over a file to get the coorugations too. Or if you have Plastruct coorugated plastic sheet, use that. I draw thin strips through the 2-bolt threads with my draw tool cause it's easy, and cut the strips wide enough for N or Z models before drawing.
     
  16. bremner

    bremner Staff Member

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    are you saying just to use plastruct? A 12x24 sheet would be more than enough
     
  17. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    There is plastruct and evergreen out there with corrigations of different spacings.
     
  18. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    No, what I mean is if you like the coorugations that come on Plastruct or Evergreen material, you can lay a sheet of the thick aluminum foil material over the styrene, and use the wire toothbrush to burnish the coorugations into the aluminum easily.

    Styrene is always too thick to please, but .002-003" aluminum sheet is most convincing.
     
    MK likes this.
  19. Hoghead2

    Hoghead2 TrainBoard Member

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    I used to roll my own... corrugated sheets that is. Thin tin foil strips rolled between the serrated sides of a well known brand of coffee jar lids, then treated to look rusty.
     
  20. sidney

    sidney TrainBoard Member

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    now this is a great idea .. Thanks for that bit of info.
     

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