So . . . edging . . .
again much deliberation was of little help!
The idea of cutting lots of small pieces with 45 deg. mitres and trying to rivet and silicone them back together neatly did not hold a great deal of appeal.
In previous discussion with the body builders (truck variety) they expressed the opinion that is was often better that rather than try to make a joint so tight that it was not noticed it was often better to open up the joint and then fill it with silicone which gave a neat finish and the silicone a better chance to do it's job!
So a few tests were in order . . .
First make up a very simple jig so that the top flange only of the angle could be cut out in a 45 deg. notch with a new saw blade especially for cutting thin aluminium sections.
so it looks like this
Then place in a simple bar bender with a bit of wood backing to avoid too many scratches although the aluminium, like the fibreglass, has a shrink wrap coating to protect it until finished working it is best to avoid being too rough with it.
A quick pull of the handle and "voila" !
The width of the saw blade used essentially determined the minimum width of the slot left when bent as the saw blade has t0 pass through the back edge.
To me this looks a lot better than fully cut through and a very sharp corner when arranged together again . . . even if the length was actually correct . . . not always easy.
In place it looks like this . . .
So a full one was cut and bent . . .
It looks a little rougher than the first one but most of that is caused by the black hole behind it which will be filled with grey silicone and the protective plastic not yet removed.
From the underneath it fits really well and looks very neat, I'm happy with that . . .
and the rubber seal will finish it off nicely.
What it did highlight was that all the frames really needed finish painting before the trim is fitted so lots more priming and painting is now in order.
While that is drying some of the other areas involved also need trimming up and painting so a start was made there . . .
As it was too difficult to get into certain areas to grind welds some small parts were left unwelded which will not really affect structural integrity but need to be filled up so an effective water seal can be made on a flat surface.
This involves what is affectionately known as "bog" or body filler.
This is left to dry also and then sanded smooth primed and painted.
So while that's drying a search is started for latches.
This is the one I originally had in mind but I now believe is really not very satisfactory as it actually has a number of penetrations through it for the mechanism to work and it will allow water to leak in quite easily.
I have also used this type of latch before and it is quite elegant and very cheap ($8 would you believe?) but we don't make them in Aussie so of course they come from China!!
They would need a fairly elaborate striker plate to make them work effectively and are a bit vulnerable to attack with a screwdriver.
Then I found this one.
It is completely flat until you press on the lock barrel (after unlocking of course) and then the "T" section springs out about 30mm to make a "T-handle".
Quite "swish" . . . and only $12 !!
Unfortunately there is only one black one in Australia and the plan is not to bring in any more of that colour.
I would have preferred black as with the white skin, aluminium trim and black hinges another finish may start to look a bit fussy.
But as a friend of mine said :
"If they look a bit scratched up after 6 months you can always paint them black . . ."
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