I'm looking for a plastic material in sheet form that I can mould to a (roughly) U shape but with a squared off part in the U curve in the middle.
Basically, the idea is to mould the material around a roof rail of a car to seal around a small box ( say 100mm x 25 mm * 25 mm) that is in a gap in the rail.
After mouldng, material needs to be sun and water proof. and keep the moulded shape once formed.
Can anyone suggest a material and method?
Plastics generally aren't very good in sunlight, most are adversely affected by UV. It would be worth a look at some of the extrusions at your local DIY/building store (guttering, etc.). As these are designed to be in sunlight they will have the necessary UV stabilisers added to them -and there is a reasonable chance you will find something that can be made to suit your application -and for odd lengths it should be quite cheap.
As for forming, most thermoplastic materials can be heat bent. As the name suggests this process consists of heating the plastic until it becomes, er, plastic (unfortunate term in this case) and bending it over a former (such as a roof bar). A little experimentation with a heat gun should produce satisfactory results.
Or, if all else fails, about 18" of gaffa tape should do the trick
Regards Kevin
hello Brian if its any use I have just unpacked some new central heating radiators and protecting them are 4 capped end trays 115mm x 30mm x 15mm x
2mm section in grey 2 of these glued together would make the size you are after there are 8 in total making 4 sealed boxes if they are any use please email me your address and I will post them off to you, email snipped-for-privacy@virgin.net
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