Diamond plate

[vtwin4life]

Please excuse my ignorance, I'm a novice (metal worker) metal worker. I noticed that Lowes sells small sheats of diamond plate, the kind that looks like it's chrome plated. My question is - what exactly is diamond plate? Is it mild steel, some kind of alloy, etc? Can I weld it like I would weld mild steel? I have some ideas for some parts I would like to make out of it, but as usual, I'd like to know at least a little about it before I attempt it.

Chop it and ride it,
Tim

[kelly'$mygirl]

it could be polished aluminum, i'm doubting that it is steel if it looks chrome plated.

[MintSScout]

It's most likely aluminum. You can weld it but not like mild steel.

[aametalmaster]

You can get diamond (tread) plate in lots of alloys, steel, alum, stainless steel to name a few. But as said its prob polished alum....Bob

[lafever25]

Diamond plating is just a design that is stamped in the metal or molded when the make it. It has the same properties as regular metals and alloys.

It is rather expensive also. The pretty shiny one you saw is more than likely polished aluminum. They also come in mild steel and stainless. There are different thickness of them also.

[harcosparky]

I can't speak for Lowes exactly but the Home Depot also sells those small shhets of diamond plate and thiers is aluminum.

It's a small sheet, thin and probably more for decorative use than anything else.

[Winger Ed.]

Its probably Alum. but also may have a clear coating on it too. If you're going to weld on the stuff, sand it, run a grinder/wire brush or something over it to knock the clearcoat off first.

[JonnyTIG]

Checker plate

Single bar checker plate (diamond plate) made from aluminum is almost always 3003 alloy. The properties of the 3000 series alloy allow it to be mechanically formed with ease, and also help it polish up to a mirror finish. It can be welded with any traditional aluminum welding process, using 4000 or 5000 series filler metals.

Five bar, (mostly used for truck accessories) or seven bar, (much more rare) isn't usually as shiney as the single bar, and this is due to it being manufactured from 5052 alloy, which doesn't polish to the chrome-like finish of 3003 checker plate. This also can be welded by all normal aluminum welding methods, using 5000 series filler (4043 filler can be used as well).

I imagine that checker plate can be gas welded with the proper rods. Here is a web site for a company that sells aluminum gas welding rods, claiming the welds are just as strong, if not stronger than other conventional welding processes.

http://www.aluminumrepair.com/

Hope this helps

[SkidSteerSteve]

Since everyone else has pretty well covered the technical side, I'll pass along my own dumb mistake I seem to make again and again with tread plate. If you are using a plasma to cut it with, make sure you have the ampreage turn up enough to cut the gauge of the tread, not just the plate. I don't how many times I've run the torch down the back side of tread plate and went to snap it loose, just to find half of it was still together. I know, welding 101, but it still happens SSS