0.7mm color coated aluminum plate
0.7mm Color Coated Aluminum Plate
A 0.7mm color coated aluminum plate is often introduced as a "thin sheet with paint on it." That description is technically correct, yet it misses why this particular thickness quietly earns loyalty in real projects. At 0.7mm, aluminum stops behaving like flimsy foil and starts behaving like a reliable skin: light enough to form, strong enough to hold its shape, and stable enough to keep a clean, consistent visual surface after coating. When people choose it for façade panels, rainwater systems, interior cladding, appliance shells, trailer bodies, or architectural trims, they are not just buying metal; they are buying predictability-predictable color, predictable forming behavior, predictable service life.
From a practical standpoint, 0.7mm is a "sweet spot" thickness because it negotiates between competing needs. Go thinner and you gain flexibility but invite oil-canning, denting, and waviness. Go thicker and the structure becomes more tolerant, but costs rise, bending radii grow, and fabrication becomes less forgiving. At 0.7mm, many roll-forming lines, press-brake setups, and coil-fed stamping processes run smoothly without forcing a project into heavier-gauge thinking.
What "color coated" really means in performance terms
Color coating is not decoration sprinkled on metal; it is a thin engineered system. Most color coated aluminum plates used in construction and general fabrication are produced by coil coating, where aluminum strip is cleaned, chemically pretreated, primed, and top-coated under controlled conditions. The value of coil coating is consistency: uniform film thickness, stable gloss, and repeatable adhesion.
A typical coating structure may include a pretreatment layer, a primer, and a topcoat, sometimes with a backcoat. The topcoat chemistry matters more than many buyers expect. Polyester is commonly chosen for cost-effective general use. PVDF-based coatings are selected when color stability and weather resistance are non-negotiable, especially for exterior architectural applications. For aggressive coastal atmospheres, industrial fumes, or intense UV exposure, the coating choice is what determines whether "white stays white" and whether the surface keeps its integrity years later.
Common coating thickness ranges (typical industry practice, subject to customer specification and supplier line capability) include a primer around 4–8 μm and a topcoat around 15–25 μm for standard exterior systems, with backcoats often 5–10 μm depending on application. Thicker is not automatically better; a balanced system with good pretreatment and a compatible primer often outperforms a thicker but poorly matched paint stack.
Why 0.7mm behaves differently in fabrication
Fabricators tend to remember 0.7mm because it holds a bend line neatly while still accepting tight radii. The forming window depends on alloy and temper. A soft temper makes bending easier but may reduce dent resistance. A harder temper increases rigidity but demands a larger minimum bend radius to avoid cracking at the outer fiber.
In workshop reality, this thickness is a friend to long parts. A gutter run, a fascia cover, or a door skin benefits from a sheet that does not flutter during handling and does not telegraph every minor substructure imperfection. It also reduces the "drum effect" that can appear on large, flat panels when thinner stock expands and contracts with temperature swings. Aluminum moves with heat; what matters is whether the panel can move without looking like it is unhappy. 0.7mm often achieves that balance.
Alloy and temper choices that make sense at 0.7mm
Color coated aluminum plate is frequently based on 3xxx and 5xxx series alloys, and occasionally 1xxx series for cost-sensitive, low-strength uses. The best choice depends on what you want the finished part to endure: deep forming, outdoor exposure, salt air, impact, or just a clean decorative face.
AA3003 and AA3105 are popular for architectural cladding, trims, and general sheet metal work because they combine good formability with decent strength. AA5052 is favored when higher strength and better marine corrosion resistance are needed, such as transportation components or coastal architectural elements.
Temper is the second half of the decision. H14 and H24 are common for painted sheet because they offer moderate strength with workable formability. Softer options like O temper form easily but can dent more readily; harder tempers like H16/H18 increase stiffness but can limit tight bends unless the tooling radius is increased.
Below is a practical reference table for typical alloys used in color coated aluminum sheet/plate. Actual mill certifications should be used for engineering decisions, but this gives a useful baseline.
Typical chemical composition (wt.%) for common color-coating substrates
| Alloy | Si | Fe | Cu | Mn | Mg | Cr | Zn | Ti | Al |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA1050 | ≤0.25 | ≤0.40 | ≤0.05 | ≤0.05 | ≤0.05 | - | ≤0.05 | ≤0.03 | Balance |
| AA3003 | ≤0.60 | ≤0.70 | 0.05–0.20 | 1.00–1.50 | - | - | ≤0.10 | - | Balance |
| AA3105 | ≤0.60 | ≤0.70 | ≤0.30 | 0.30–0.80 | 0.20–0.80 | - | ≤0.40 | ≤0.10 | Balance |
| AA5052 | ≤0.25 | ≤0.40 | ≤0.10 | ≤0.10 | 2.20–2.80 | 0.15–0.35 | ≤0.10 | - | Balance |
Typical mechanical properties at common tempers (guideline values)
Mechanical performance depends on exact temper, coating bake cycle, and substrate thickness, but these are commonly referenced ranges for sheet around this gauge.
| Alloy/Temper | Tensile strength (MPa) | Yield strength (MPa) | Elongation (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3003-H14 | 130–180 | 110–150 | 4–10 |
| 3105-H14 | 130–190 | 110–160 | 3–10 |
| 5052-H32 | 210–260 | 160–200 | 6–12 |
| 1050-H14 | 80–110 | 60–90 | 3–10 |
When a project involves bending painted sheet, the coating must flex with the metal. High-ductility coating systems and correct bake curing help prevent micro-cracking at bends. In production, it is common to specify a minimum bend radius related to thickness and temper, and to test with a T-bend evaluation (such as 0T, 1T, 2T) depending on coating type and performance requirements.
Implementation standards and what buyers should ask for
Color coated aluminum plate is traded globally, so the same product might be made under different standard systems. For coil coated aluminum used in building and general industry, buyers often reference ASTM standards for aluminum sheet and coil (for example, ASTM B209 for aluminum and aluminum-alloy sheet and plate) alongside coating performance standards such as AAMA (commonly used in architectural coatings), QUALICOAT, or QUALANOD/QUALICOAT-type certification systems depending on region and finish. For coated sheet performance, tests like gloss, color difference, adhesion (cross-hatch), impact resistance, pencil hardness, salt spray, humidity resistance, and accelerated weathering are typical in quality agreements.
A practical purchasing mindset is to treat 0.7mm color coated aluminum plate as two linked products: the aluminum substrate and the coating system. A strong substrate with a weak coating will disappoint outdoors; a premium coating on the wrong temper may crack at the first tight bend. The most useful technical questions are not exotic. They are simple and decisive: What alloy and temper are supplied? What is the coating chemistry and film thickness? What pretreatment is used? Is the coil coated with controlled bake parameters? Is there test data for adhesion and bend performance? What is the recommended forming direction relative to rolling?
What makes 0.7mm color coated aluminum plate special is not that it is thin, or colored, or aluminum. It is that it performs like a contract between appearance and physics. The appearance side demands uniform color, consistent gloss, and a surface that stays calm in sunlight and rain. The physics side demands bendability, stiffness, corrosion resistance, and compatibility with fasteners, sealants, and dissimilar materials.
In use, this contract shows up in small moments. A folded edge that doesn't craze. A panel that doesn't ripple when the afternoon heat arrives. A cut edge that doesn't become a future corrosion headline because it was paired with the right alloy and protected detailing. A color that still reads "intentional" after seasons of UV.
0.7mm is thick enough to feel trustworthy in the hand and thin enough to remain economical and easily formed. When specified intelligently-matching alloy, temper, and coating system to the environment and fabrication method-it becomes one of those materials that rarely causes drama. And in construction and manufacturing, the absence of drama is often the highest form of quality.
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