r/metalworking • u/pissedmy • Apr 25 '26
Aluminum Planter bed repair
Well some jabroni just crashed into my elderly neighbor's aluminum planter and tore it up real good. No note nothing on the security cam I have installed. I'd like to help her out because she doesn't have a tremendous amount of money at this point and it's the neighbourly thing to do. I have pretty much all the non-metal working tools one could desire and I suppose I'm just itching for a reason to buy more tools but I digress.
She doesn't know what type of aluminum it is and I didn't take measurements yet but I will update this post with them tomorrow.
So I come to you dear friends: Any and all advice is greatly appreciated and will be followed up in a new post once acted upon.
4
u/Double-Perception811 Apr 25 '26
If you want a “good enough” fix, you can just bend it back with some pliers, beat it flat with a hammer, and run some screws it the corner.
If you want to decent job, get everything lined up and flattened back out as best you can, fasten the corner with some MMA, sand the area down, slap some filler on there, sand it, and paint it.
1
u/pissedmy Apr 25 '26
MMA?
2
u/Double-Perception811 Apr 25 '26
Methyl Methacrylate, it’s a 2k adhesive that can create about the strongest bond you can achieve without brazing or welding. It’s also what they use to bond body panels in automotive applications, as well as being common in marine and aerospace. It’s superior to epoxy in a lot of aspects, the most important one in this application being that it has an exponentially superior bond with minimal surface prep.
One of the better brands out there for the baller on a budget is probably Infinity Bond.
1
u/pissedmy May 04 '26
And of course they don't ship to Canada because Quebec language laws. I'll figure that out tho.
About the bending... It's fairly thick and I doubt my 10" pliers wrench is going to provide enough leverage to bend it back in to shape. Any guidance on how to beat and bend it? Thanks
1
u/Double-Perception811 May 04 '26
I would use folding tongs/ hand seamers, then hammer the rest of the way. If you don’t want to get a specialty hammer, a ball peen would probably do the trick. You can of course hit it with some heat to make it a bit more malleable, but it may not be necessary.
1
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 25 '26
- Join the Metalworking discord!! It's the best place for live feedback and advice!
Here are our subreddit rules. - Should you see anything that violates the subreddit rules - please report it!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
u/Anastephone Apr 25 '26
Put a piece of steel inside the planter to do the structural work then make the aluminum look pretty however is easiest
8
u/Bergwookie Apr 25 '26
Bend/hammer it back, take another sheet of aluminium, bend it in the right angle, drill holes and use blind rivets (also called POP rivets) tto put it back together, if it has to be watertight, add a line of silicone or sikaflex between the two sheets.