Why does aluminum diamond tread plate stay chrome shinny when other AL sheets gray???

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I have a ton of aluminum scraps. They sit outside in the rain and weather , until I haul them off to the recycler.I have always wondered how the aluminum diamond tread plate 3003 stays a shinny chrome when the the other 6063 aluminum scraps I get always slowly oxidize. I have 3003 sheet metal scraps too that oxidize. i've read about polishing aluminum, but even the companies that sell polish products recommend clearcoating the polished aluminum so it stays shinny. Yet the diamond plate does not seem to be coated, so why does it stay shinny?I get the diamond tread plate from easternmetal.com
Reply:3000 serries are food grade if I rememer right, but it shoulnt corrode much if it were intended to be used with food.Dimond tread is almost always 6061, which is alloyed to stay shiny and look good, be weldable, machinable and extrudable.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:The diamond plate that is available to me is usually not 6061, I think it is 3003-H32, although it might be a 5000 series, I'll have to check monday.
Reply:Diamond plate with a bright finish is 3003 alloy, not very strong and not heat treatable, but looks good and easy to work ie bend and weld. 6061 is the other common alloy for diamond plate stronger, heat treatable dull gray finish. and not bendable.Mike
Reply:Ok I was under the impression most dimond was 6061.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:6061 is much harder and will last longer but the 3003 is the bright high gloss finish.
Reply:Originally Posted by leightrepairsDiamond plate with a bright finish is 3003 alloy, not very strong and not heat treatable, but looks good and easy to work ie bend and weld. 6061 is the other common alloy for diamond plate stronger, heat treatable dull gray finish. and not bendable.Mike
Reply:thanks for replies, does anyone know how this diamond plate is polished? does the mill where it is made have some kind of huge buffing wheels that go over the sheet? any special treatment?I just don't get how this stuff doesn'[t seem to oxidize outside while other polished aluminum does?
Reply:Local hospital installed mirror tread plate in all elevators. Made them look very cool. And then some patients and other people started looking down and seeing parts of each others anatomy. Very old and often overweight anatomy. Teams were scrambled with handfuls of scotchbrite to dull the finish.
Reply:LOL!  Too Funny!Rick V 1 Airco Heliwelder 3A/DDR3 CTC 70/90 amp Stick/Tig Inverters in Parallel1 Lincoln MIG PAK 151 Oxy-Acet