Diamond Plate for build

[sparetime]

What gauge diamond plate are you using on your builds?  Is it aluminum or steel?  My supplier has many options.  Obviously, the thicker the steel the better resistance to road sand and stuff.  The thicker the steel the heavier also.  Looking for the right balance.

 

Also, where can one get RV aluminum siding?  I'm thinking of this instead of the flat aluminum.  I'll be spray foaming and don't want to warp the flat.  Seems the RV siding would probably show less of my sins. 

 

Thanks

[Hawg]

If I had it to do over again I would get the black steel plate instead of the shiny aluminum and coat it with POR-15. I take care of my house but that plate went to heck so fast I didn't see it happening. I tried every product out there to shine it back up with no success, it drives me nuts to look at it.The shiny stuff loses it shine fast and is nearly impossible to shine back up. It's also very expensive. You can get by with the thin stuff (1/16th? but not 100% sure), it doesn't take enough pounding to ever wear through and will not lose it's luster any faster than the heavier gauge. 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The .063 is most commonly used.  No need to go any heavier.  

As mentioned the shiny stuff loses it's shine over time.  I try to wash the house a couple times over the winter, which has seemed to cut down on corrosion.  

Next house might get unpainted .063 flat aluminum on the bottom.  At least that can get easily polished back up with a buffer.