Working with Colorplast
 

Is there a 'Complete Guide to Working with Colorplast' hiding somewhere in the archives? I would like to make fender skirts for my truck out of this material, and put on a complete underbody panel. Thanks in advance.:)

welcome buddy!
see the link in my signature:
third, full underbelly pan

It's pretty self-explanatory. Mind the 'grain', use black 'plast if it'll be exposed to the sun. Keep away from exhaust. My friend made 'plast fenders for his bicycle by inserting thin steel rods into the channels and bending them to shape. Maybe that would help with a belly pan, though I still stand by the air dam and side skirts method. Less work.

Colorplast
 

Thanks. This was very helpful; think I can do it, maybe next Spring. I still need to see if Colorplast can be bent as the rear fender skirts won't be a flat surface. Where did you buy your Colorplast from?

Suppliers may not know what you want until you call it coroplast.

I was trying not to correct it...

It is basically plastic card board. So it can bend, difficult to snap. Melts much sooner than it catches fire, so greatnfor an underbody is BELOW the exhaust. Melts well, haven't tried bonding it to other pieces. Very sturdy, but extended exposure to sun and elements weakens it- becoming more brittle.

I'd advise looking out for election signs, and starting to work with it yourself- get to feel and experiment. It's good stuff, but I advise aluminum sheeting for underbody.

I don't much care for coroplast, but if I was going to use it that's what I'd do. I made this picture:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...12-1-55-49.png

The V-notch if you want to wrap the edge with tape like Fiberfix, or the deeper trough if you want to wrap the coro' over and heat-seal it or something.

As a VW fan did you know black coroplast is OEM fitment on later models?

Why not turn it 90 degrees and insert the wire into the channels?

Also.

Corrugated Plastic. Coroplast. I've seen several ways of "spelling" it, but it's really just a contraction.

It'll bend quite a bit. I made a rear fender for my mountain bike out of it, and it could bend more if I wanted. Mine is just held on by zip ties and tension.

This is a lot like my friend's fender. His reinforced front fender curves downward from the down tube instead of being mounted on the fork, as mine is. I'll be working on better fender solutions this winter, so perhaps some wire research will be done.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-sv...ntain-bike.jpg

How is it used on VWs? (I'm not a VW fan...)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ems-29597.html
I found some on a Nissan Altima I rented this summer. They had a clever way of getting it to bend too. They sliced through just one side to allow it to bend along a straight line.

There a number of sites that have projects using Coroplast including recumbents.com and Instructables. The company website site has info on using the product and finding a supplier. There is now a honeycomb plastic product offered too. For the popular 4mm thickness, paper model techniques work with zip ties. For thicker materials use the 'cut and fold' methods for composites.

No, but I'd guess cover for the spare tire well.

I didn't show that (it's the easy part) because I hadn't figured out how to bend the ends and affix them to the piece laid into the edge—without melting the coroplast. Maybe soldering?

I was looking at ducting the grill to the radiator, imaging my surprise when it had already been done by VW, with coroplast no less!

Once you're done with the 'down-market' appearance of 2nd hand coroplast, there's Alumicore. Enameled aluminum skins, just like PolyMetal.

http://www.superfrog.com/Images/Alumicor%20Sign.jpg

alumicore - Google Search

I'm having trouble navigating their site. Why do they have to be so professional! They need a .hillbilly site for me to better understand.

Thanks for the tip on inserting rods in the channels. How well does that work ?
Does it still have nasty bulges and creases in the bends ?

That depends on the radius of the bend and the orientation of the internal ribs. I can try some pieces.

UltArc -- I just snagged their homepage from Google. I think the pic was hot-linked from some other site.

Cd -- I haven't done the experiment, but it seems like if it was done right, with a curved rib every ith channel and a complete frame, it would resemble a balsa wood paper-covered model airplane or a fabric-covered spruce real one.

He posted pictures up recently. Take a look for yourself :thumbup:

Home-made Fenders- Mtbr.com

You're not alone. It may look shiny, but if you can't find what you need it's not your problem- it's the site designer's!