Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I Request for the Manufacturers 10 year Warranty

A. After your job has been completed you can download the Manufacturers Warranty document below and combined with a current sales invoice and Batch Numbers from the purchased Alucobond Sheets , the name of the Company that installed the products , Composite Panels Australia Pty Ltd  then applies to Alucobond Architectural Pty Ltd for the Manufacturers 10 year Warranty which may take 6 to 8 weeks from the completion of the project , if this document can NOT BE SUPPLIED BY THE FABRICATOR then it is likely that they are using 2nds stock or material supplied from existing projects or materials from which sheet origins are un-known and can not be determined , Alucobond Pty Ltd will not Warrant these products , so always look for the Alucobond Pty Ltd Manufacturers Warranty .

Download Manufacturers Warranty document

Q . What is the difference between Alucobond and the Chinese Panels that are now flooding the market 

A . Alucobond was first invented and produced 40 years ago by Alusuisse (now Alcan Composites)  in Germany. Alcan is one of the world's largest aluminium producers and mine, smelt and roll their own aluminium coils to exact industry standards. They also have their own in house coil coating line to ensure Alucobond is produced  to consistent levels of quality and international standards.

Since late 1990's there have been a proliferation of copy type panels coming out of Asia. These manufacturers do not have a constant or consistent source of supply and purchase their aluminium coils (prepainted or mill finish), core materials, adhesives, etc through 3rd party suppliers at the lowest rate they can obtain on the day, where quality, consistency and the true specifications of the materials are unknown or not disclosed. All of these Asian panels are noticeably cheaper than Alucobond, and there is a good reason for them to be so. It comes down to, the materials used in the production of the Composite Panels Australia,  the amount of material used, research & development costs.

• Alucobond is manufactured using only the highest quality materials, the alloy used is A5005, a marine grade alloy with excellent corrosion resistance and is 0.5mm thick to both sides of the panel. Cheap Asian panels generally have aluminium skins of A 3003 or 1100 alloy, both of which are low grade alloys with low corrosion resistance and being recycled alloys, also carry impurities which affect the durability and bending qualities of the aluminium. Tests carried out have shown these  Asian  copies have been supplied with aluminium skin thicknesses ranging from 0.3mm to 0.45mm.
  Whilst this produces cheaper panels it also affects the panels ability to be substituted for Alucobond, unless panel sizes are adjusted down to suit the lower wind load carrying capacity of the panel. Alucobond has available, data & graphs, relating to load carrying capacity and deflection of Alucobond panels. Other panels cannot be directly substituted unless they have identical specs regarding alloy, temper and skin thickness.
• The core material is a virgin low density polyethylene (LDPE) manufactured by BASF, and whilst any scrap virgin low density polyethylene created in the production of Alucobond is reclaimed, no recycled (LDPE) from outside sources are used. All panels produced in Asia essentially use recycled LDPE which is readily and cheaply available, but can contain other forms of plastic and other impurities which can cause degradation of the core material and ultimate failure of the panel. It is also harder and more difficult to fabricate and bend.
• The adhesive film between the aluminium skin and the LDPE core of Alucobond is 0.0075mm thick, most Asian panels will have an adhesive thickness significantly less than this and some have been measured at of 0.0025mm. This will lead to delamination at some point in time, it could be today, or it could be in 3 years time.
• The paint finish to Alucobond will be either PVF2 using 70% Kynar,or FEVE and is dependent on the colour selected. These finishes have various minimum film thickness which are designed to provide optimum performance.
  Cheaper Asian panels usually will be PVF2 and will either have a film thickness lower than that stated or will only contain 50% Kynar. FEVE paint is required for high gloss finishes and is extremely difficult to source in China and is usually substituted with High Durability Polyester (HDP), which does not have the same UV resistance or weathering performance as 70% Kynar
  PVF2 or FEVE finishes. There have been numerous cases where the paint has failed or completely come away from the aluminium substrate as a result of substandard pre-finishing and/or priming on these cheaper panels.
• Alucobond provides a comprehensive 10 year warranty supplied by the
  manufacturer Alcan Composites, this is a real warranty and a legally binding contract. Warranty's for Asian panels are generally unrealistic or misleading. Many claim to offer a 20 or 25 year warranty for their panel, however closer inspection would reveal the 20 ­ 25years  is the performance warranty from the paint supplier relating to the expected performance of their paint, ie Beckers, PPG, etc and is not related to the performance of the finished panel. Other manufacturers offer no warranty at all and it is the local distributor who warranties the panel, which is just as worthless, should the panel fail. In the event of a claim, the distributor closes down his distributorship, or already has gone broke, or is distributing a different panel.
• Alucobond is not only the original composite panel but also the
  innovators and leaders in innovative finishes & surfaces. This is a direct result of Alcan Composites ongoing research & development carried out at their R & D division at Neuhausen in Switzerland into new eco friendly materials, manufacturing techniques, finishes and surfaces, including timber look and photo voltaic surfaces. These ongoing developments obviously cost money and add to the overall cost to produce Alucobond. It costs nothing in development costs to copy.
• Alcan also have a commitment to the environment and have an extensive worldwide Environmental & Sustainability policy.
• Alcan Composites not only produce Alucobond in Germany, but have manufacturing plants in North America, South America, India and China, all of which produce Alucobond to the same quality standards, using the same quality materials, and even the plant in China cannot produce Alucobond at same low cost as all the other Chinese panels. Why?...Because it's not labour, it's the materials used.

Q . Is there any documents that can provide me with an understanding of how Alucobond is fixed to my project 

A. there are Typical Details for the application of Alucobond Composite Panels Australia to your project which can be downloaded below , these details may vary from project to project though .

Download Typical Details for the application of Alucobond Composite Panels Australia

Q . How much would I save buy substituting Alucobond for a Chinese panel ?

A . You run the risk of failure with the Substituted panel which will be very expensive to replace , Alucobond has been tried and tested to the harshness of the Australian conditions and for a saving of approximately $3 to 5 dollars per sqm it really isn't worth the risk . To provide some evidence to my claims about the worth of Marine Grade Alloy on coastal facades, I'd like to share with you a current Aluminium Composite Panel failure after 5 years exposure in Sydney.

The Project was supplied predominantly with the specified Alucobond Marine Grade 5005 panels, however the installer substituted (with approval) a small area of the project with a cheaper Chinese panel.

This site is in a similar coastal position as the Gold Coast , it is at Ultimo in Sydney and in sight of the estuary salt water.

After just 5 years, the Chinese panel with the lower grade alloy has corroded and is being replaced by the Alucobond.

On the other hand, the 5005 Marine Grade Alucobond installed at the same time on the same project is still 100% perfect and performing to the expectations of the clients.

Please share with your team as I believe the case study photos attached best explains my proposal to invest just 3% more on the supply and fix of such an important component for the project.

Q. What are the qualities of ALUCOBOND®?

A. ALUCOBOND® is known for its lightweight qualities, and also has other desirable attributes such as a large selection of colour and finish options, the ability to form textures or curves or the option to create modules. You can present an exceptionally flat, high-tech metal panel image.

Q. Are ALUCOBOND® and ALUCORE® only used in commercial constructions only?

A. ALUCOBOND® and ALUCORE® are not only applicable to the building and construction industry but also for corporate image programs and for vehicle and marine manufacturing industries.

Q. What colours can I get ALUCOBOND® in?

A. ALUCOBOND® comes in a large selection of colours and finish options.

Q. How do I clean and maintain my ALUCOBOND® surfaces?

A. Our cleaning and maintenance manual can be downloaded here.

Q. Can I view a sample warranty?

A. Yes one can be downloaded here.

Q. What are standard sheet sizes?

A .ALUCOBOND comes in

(depending on availability within Australia)

Q. How do I save money utilising ALUCOBOND on my project?

A. Minimising Wastage and utilising sheet sizes effectively.
Please contact us for advise on this.

Q. If sheets aren't available in Australia, how long does take to import sheets for my project?

A. 6 - 8 weeks (approximately)