[FactoryD]

Does anyone know the annealing temperature for the stock aluminum LX hoods? I'm doing some hood work and may need to anneal the metal to get it done. Before I call the dealership, I'm wondering if one of our resident techs may know.

I can just picture the call, "Anneal? No one by that name works here." :wink:

 

[FactoryD]

okay, i found that when repairing these panels that you must preheat them from 400 to 570 degrees, above 570 the panel loses its temper and becomes annealed.

 

[MrHemi2U]

Sounds like someone is doing a mod.

 

[FactoryD]

Dern tootin'!

 

[GasGunR]

Actually, it is "normalized". Annealing is a process used after heat treating to remove internal stresses...or that's what I remember from my college metalurgy class... Heating it up as you described and letting it slowly cool would take the metal to a very soft state.

Aluminum heat treating if I remember correctly involves aging? or artificial aging buy using heat. I did work on the interior of some annealing ovens at Alumax years ago... lining them with stainless steel, not that that has anything to do with anything!

Don

 

[MAGFX]

I did not know that our hoods were aluminum. Cool!

When I have had to anneal a piece of aluminum, I do the ole' torch trick. Fire up an oxy/acet torch with a rose bud end using only acetylene. Coat the aluminum with the resultant black soot. Then fire it up with the correct mixture and slowly and evenly heat the piece up until the black nearly disappears. Let it air cool. It is then annealed.

 

[PaulFix]

I used to bend my motorcycle levers straight after annealing, the method I used was to smear buttter on the lever and then heat in a oven till the butter browned then let it cool and I could bend it straight without it snapping

 

[Super T]

the hood is cold-worked (stamped). annealing relieves the internal stresses. These stresses make the part much stronger... this is why hand tools are 'cold-forged.' Iron is much better suited for such things than aluminum is in terms of alloys. I have a $120 book from school collecting dust if you want to borrow it But yes, the annealing temperature is around 80% of the melting point. IIRC aluminum alloys (excluding the expensive ones, i.e. 6000 and 7000 series) melt in the 660-740 degree F range. factoryd is pretty on with his numbers.