inexpensive rigid sheet plastic?

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:15 pm

I am looking for rigid sheet plastic for my Mutant vehicle. I wouldn't want it to be more flexible than the plastic panels that go into a flourescent overhead light housing (the 2'x4' panels). I would like them to be as inexpensive as possible. I would prefer white or light grey or silver, but any color would do as long as they can be painted. Depending on the size, I will need many dozens. Wood paneling is my alternative, but I am afraid it will way too much. Any suggestions? regards, Jafe

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 7:02 am

Does it have to be FLAT? You could use corrugated fiberglass roofing panels. I'd avoid any of that clear styrene-based lighting panel palstic, as it is very brittle and shatters into a zillion sharp moopshards. Luan is a little costly, like $20 a sheet, but is thin and strong and easy to work with. Or rolled aluminum flashing, which comes in many widths- Pop rivet the lengths together with a little overlap. Use extra rivets for a "high tech" look. Or make panels from grommeted canvas, and lash them into place. "The Road Warrior" was on not long ago, and I ignored the action (difficult!) and just concentrated on the clever structures and vehicle coverings used. Lots of good ideas there. The Holstein hide car looked VERY Burner, looking back......

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 8:36 am

robotland wrote:Does it have to be FLAT? You could use corrugated fiberglass roofing panels. I'd avoid any of that clear styrene-based lighting panel palstic, as it is very brittle and shatters into a zillion sharp moopshards.

thanks for mentioning this - it also has to be resistant to breaking and shattering into a zillion shards.

Or rolled aluminum flashing, which comes in many widths- Pop rivet the lengths together with a little overlap. Use extra rivets for a "high tech" look. Or make panels from grommeted canvas, and lash them into place. "The Road Warrior" was on not long ago, and I ignored the action (difficult!) and just concentrated on the clever structures and vehicle coverings used. Lots of good ideas there. The Holstein hide car looked VERY Burner, looking back......

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had ignored sheet metal as a possibility... which is ironic because I WANT it to look metallic (so far all the plastic sheeting I can find is too expensive) - I am trying to avoid material to distance myself from the crowd of HASLE's. We want a permanent, shiny look this year. Sheet metal is perfect (and fairly cheap).

Thanks! Jafe

pokiedot · Post by **pokiedot** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 9:44 am

just wanted to mention.. last year i made a loverly camp sign out of a thin (like maybe 1/4 thick) plastic and it warped in the heat like mad! i don't mean to point out a big 'duh', but just remember that plastic melts.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 9:54 am

A very astute observation! It gets hot enough out there to "de-extrude" extruded plastics and heatformed containers like milk jugs! That's a downside for aluminum sheet, since it's such an efficient conductor that you can burn yourself on contact if it's been in direct sun for a while!

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:35 am

robotland wrote:A very astute observation! It gets hot enough out there to "de-extrude" extruded plastics and heatformed containers like milk jugs! That's a downside for aluminum sheet, since it's such an efficient conductor that you can burn yourself on contact if it's been in direct sun for a while!

Hmmm...we were considering electrifying the outer skin somehow to keep back crowds and prevent illegal boarding. Hot metal would be just as effective during the daytime (and not as controversial!)

regards - Jafe

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:00 pm

FWIW, some plastics actually get more rigid in heat. Unfortunately, I can no longer recall which ones are the "thermoset" plastics. (Not too long ago, I had a plastic bottle of honey, in which some of the honey had hardened on the bottle. I tried to "re-liquify" the honey by sticking the bottle in a pan of boiling water. To my surprise, the honey melted and the bottle got hard!)

Just a side note.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 5:57 am

....Acrylics can play that way, sometimes. Styrenes and PVC soften.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:10 pm

... I think it was PETE. I can't recall what those initials stand for, so it could have been acrylic...

(I believe Bakelite (sp?) is another thermoset-- and it definitely wasn't that!

)