Under belly pan

[Buddy]

I'm considering using aircraft aluminum to make removable panels under the vehicle. What thickness do some of you recommend? Thanks!

[Cd]

I made an engine cover out of aluminum flashing that I riveted to aluminum bracing.
It rattled and made all sorts of weird noise when the car was at idle.
I went to a thicker aluminum ( about the thickness of a dime ) and that solved the problem, but the thing is surprisingly ....heavy !
I would suggest using coroplast. There are several members here that have used it successfully.
It weighs much less.

( And one more thing - coroplast doesn't have razor sharp edges either )

[FastPlastic]

Originally Posted by Cd

( And one more thing - coroplast doesn't have razor sharp edges either )

Awww come on, sounds like a great anti theft device to me. Don't have to worry about anyone hiding under your car.

I folded the edges over and glued them on mine. Hardens the edge up a bit and keeps it from being razor sharp.

[stevet47]

For something like a bellypan that requires a lot of cutting and fitting and contouring around uneven surfaces, etc. I agree that coroplast is probably the easiest way to go. Maybe just use aluminum right by the cat.

[Buddy]

Thanks CD! I assume that colorplast is cheaper than aluminum and easy to work with.

[Buddy]

CD - I Googled colorplast and found a company that makes it: there were 30 different materials available, not to mentioned thickness choice - yikes! Any recommendations?

[Bicycle Bob]

Election signs. Or, the same stuff, as commonly available at lumberyards.

[thatguitarguy]

I bought some Coroplast last week for about $13.60 per white 4x8x4mm sheet. Closer to $17 for colors. I first called a number of sign shops, because they use the material for signs, and I was hoping to recycle some old signs, but nobody had used stuff, so I asked them where they got their materials. A few different sign shops gave me some contact info on a few different suppliers, and the place I ended up buying from had a lot of different sheets of a lot of different materials, but they seemed to deal mostly in raw materials for sign makers. Look under signs and plastics. Good luck!

[Weather Spotter]

I got mine from a sign shop, $30 for a 4 x 8 sheet.

[gone-ot]

...put strengthening "creases" in ALL flat panels (like airconditioning ducts have) to halt 'tin canning' due to turbulent air flow and mechanical vibrations.