[Danr55]

Not structurally important but not irrelevant. Even though they are just for show they are still subject to work hardening. As such may crack. Stress corrosion is always a consideration with aluminum. So you do not want to bend them into too small a radius. If you are using anything in T6 condition, annealing before bending is always a good idea. Aluminum will naturally harden after working and will become less maliable with age. I dont recall for certain but I believe the rule of thumb for bending aluminum was Minimum R(bend radius)= [1.5T(thicknecss) +.03]. So for .032 stock, the minimum bend radius would be .032 x 1.5=.048+.030=.078R.....or something like that..