Straightening bent alloy castings ?

[ferretjuggler]

I just tried fitting the one "good" points cover that I have for my A65, and on closer inspection, it turns out to be twisted all over the place.
Yes I can actually get it to fit in place and look half decent, but it's not going to offer any protection from the elements.
I'm just wondering if I could manage to bend it straight again without it cracking/shattering ?
Maybe annealing it first and/or attacking it while still warm might help ?
Obviously, I'm aware that this enterprise will probably result in tears being shed, but I'm going to give it a bash before I start looking for a better one.
Any advice appreciated.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Ferret,

Try not to 'give it a bash' but get some wet soap and rub it all over the aluminium.  Heat it gently until the soap goes black.  The aluminium should now be able to be bent/straightened.  I would apply pressure rather than impact.  Perhaps squash it in a vice between two pieces of wood.  This should work but some of the aluminium used in outer covers is not that pure but it should still work.
A final bit of work with some wet and dry on a flat plate to finally get the face flat. 

Dave.

[ferretjuggler]

Thanks for that Dave
I can just about remember the soap trick from school metalwork classes 50 years ago !
I was going to tap it with a rawhide mallet while on a flat steel plate, but I've just remembered that I've got a 5" vice somewhere (a real vice not a Chinese one)