krist to you have any pics of this pvc? is it the same as the burb in a previous post?

A good friend of mine owns a real estate sign shop and orders it all the time. The easiest place to get it for me was there. It's 3mm which is about 1/8".

Same as the burb in a previous post??? Not sure what you are asking...

I could take a picture if you really want, but it really wont help, theres really not that much to see. The plastic place i buy it from has the stuff in a bunch of different colors, red, blue, yellow..... We buy it in white because the white is a little bit cheaper than colored. Its just a 4'x8' sheet, 1/8" thick, with a fairly smooth surface.

Kris...
That is a great idea. I have been using that plastic for my business for a couple of years now, and I never thought to use it for making interior pieces.

Kris: great idea. Since its just PVC I would assume that you can use the garden variety of PVC sprinkler pipe cement to glue shapes to door panels, etc. (Just like Rod Doors does but cheaper!)

I use our regular industrial spray adhesive the glue the plastic together. I once tried to peel apart two pieces i glued together and broke the plastic. So I would say the adhesive does the job. But i would also think PVC pipe glue would work.

The stuff I used on my Suburban (mentioned above) seems pretty good for this but I'd like to find something a little easier to work with. This stuff almost has two layers to it, one smooth and one textured. Both layers are laminated together but tend to give problems when I heat and bend. The stuff cools very slowly, too. A bit thinner material would be good, and a harder plastic might be easier to work with as well. For my headliner, though, it's perfect since I don't need to heat it and bend it - the bows will hold it in place.



Heh.. Thanks, DesertPanel. I got a bit sidetracked with dropping a Buick 3800 into my Fiero. Long story, but as soon as that's done I'll be back into the 'Burb, building interior panels. Drop me an email sometime.

Kris'
Since you heat it into shape is there any problems if you live in a hot climate? Does the stuff get brittle from thermal cycling after a while?

Sound interesting but living here in So Cal where in my area 100 degree temps are common place would have me a bit concerned. If it's 100 outside the car it's hotter inside!

Regards
Mark

I make interior panels for my work (camperizing full size vans) and the stock panels are flat 1/8 inch pvc. The sliding door sizes are very large, and provide ample material for almost any custom panel. post pics when you are finished.

You can always make a frame for the door out of wood, fiberglass, and AB foam to make the doors contours.

Look at this site for a full write up on make a door.

http://jlaudio.com/tutorials/mera/MERA_2003.pdf

You can get AB foam at most autobody suppliers and from selectproducts.com.

Jerry

Is the stuff you are talking about called
FRP(Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic)?

Who are you asking?

Cristcustom is right on! The only way to go is the 1/8" ABS it can be glued if you screw up. Also like Alan said get the book Custom Auto interiors. Shows how the Pros make the sculptured effects. Workn on my 36 Ford 3 window interior now and 3, 4X8 sheets cost me 86.00 (Alaska money,hahah) They build the panels then glue on 1/4-1/2 poltfoam then put on the material. You can cut any design you want in the foam before covering. Also you can bend the ABS real easy with a propane torch and a little finesse, Ray

Guess I'm old school I use 1/8'' wood board