P.S. I still use tin cans as a source of sheet metal. There was a big storm a while ago, with tree branches whistling by at high speed. (Not a good time to be outside.)
Three holes were punched in the house by the branches, 1-2 inches in diameter. What to do, what to do. I took a coke can, slit it and unrolled it into sheet metal. Then cut a disk bigger than the hole, and epoxied it into place. Worked like a charm, and cost nothing.
I've used coke can metal for shingles and flashing, too. They don't rust.
I like that story. I fixed a microwave door latch with a beer-can shim and some decorative ribbon; we used it another 11 years.
there's also a plastic liner on them that I'm sure helps.
It also helps that they are made from aluminum which doesn’t rust like iron does.
It rusts just like iron, but the rust (AlOx, or alumina) stays bonded to the metal and actually protects it.
Rust being literal Fe2O3 makes a convincing argument that aluminium sure oxidises but doesn't rust pretty much by definition ;)
In other words: it rusts, but it doesn't rust like iron. It rusts in a much less destructive way because the aluminum oxide protects the rest of the aluminum from oxygen
it does not rust, it corrodes :)
And epoxy binds to aluminum just fine ? Epoxy is weird. What solid material does it NOT bond to ?
Polyethylene, like they use in food containers. Virtually nothing sticks to it unless specifically designed.
It does not bond to polypropylene and other low surface energy plastics
Terminology question - I understood those to be "high-energy" surfaces, because the chains are strongly bound. Is it a typo, or am I wrong?
Teflon.
Yummy, my favorite!
Actually should be mostly fine since it’s pretty inert, unless you eat the stuff used to make it.