On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:33:42 -0400, micky
wrote:

Do pop rivets get old? AKA blind rivets.

I've had two things that needed pop-riveting lately, the bag dispenser
lid from the doggie bathroom that got knocked over, and the extension
from my rear downspout, to take the water away from the house.

I"m 96% sure I used the same alluminum pop-rivets as the last several
times, but this time, the nail part broke off before there was any
appreciable bulging of the "sleeve" part.

I tried 3 rivets on the first task before I just used vice-grips to
squish the sleeve.(It came out perfect.) The downspout seemed to
work okay on the second try, but that's still 4 rivets that failed and
only one that worked.

Do they get brittle with age?


Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?

First question first re your header: Yes, everything does.
Next, do they get brittle with age: No.
Last, should you be using steel rivets: It depends.

The steel rivets are for use in ferrous metals and the aluminum rivets
are for use in nonferrous metals.