How Thick Is Automotive Sheet Metal

Sheet metal used on older car bodies typically ranges from a gauge of 16 to 18.

How thick is automotive sheet metal.

Russ nyberg demonstrates making a step in aluminum sheet metal with a bead roller. 20 gauge became common in more recent times and this meant 0 0359 inch thick metal still a lot to work with in bumping and metal finishing. Wow that s hard to imagine. When doing old car restorations sometimes its simpler to replace an entire panel instead of trying to straighten it or repair rust spots.

This inexpensive tool turns flat sheet into customfabricated. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material. Sheet metal gauge size chart gauge or gage sizes are numbers that indicate the thickness of a piece of sheet metal with a higher number referring to a thinner sheet. 22 to 24 ga is incredibly thin perhaps the new hsla steel used on modern cars can be that thin but not good old cold rolled steel on a pre 80 s vehicle.

The metal sandwiched together on the bottom inside of the rocker panels some of it is 060 and 040 thick so when you re working different panels and braces be aware you have different thickness s of sheet metal. Automotive sheet metal once ran in the range of 18 gauge which was 48 thousandths of an inch thick actually 0 0478 inch. Also the rocker panels are galvanized be aware of the fumes when welding or grinding galvanized fumes are dangerous. The metal is pulled through the die and the shape of the die is transferred directly to your sheet.

Sheet metal used on the auto body of new vehicles and when aftermarket body work is performed tends to be between 20.