You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What's with all the plastic body panels?

What's with all the plastic body panels?

23 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2006 at 9:06 AM

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#22 of 23 carlisimo by bottgers May 16, 2006 (4:19 am)
A box by any other name is still a box and there's not much you can do to change its looks. An element would look like a box no matter what material or color its panels are made of.
#23 of 23 Re: What's with all the plastic body panels? [bottgers] by plasticar May 22, 2006 (9:06 am)
Replying to: bottgers (Apr 04, 2006 4:16 am) The parts you are describing are not considered body panels. The big grey or black pieces on the element and avalanche are called cladding. the biggest problem with these claddings is that they are made of the a material called Pollypropylene (PP). This is just a step up from the stuff they make milk bottles of. PP has some great properties... ... if you are making toys. It has very little cold weather impact resistance, warps in hot weather, becomes brittle over time and can be scratched easily with a finger nail (don't start "nailing" car now!). The reason auto makers use PP is that it is easy to process (mold), can be molded in color with good consistency and it is very inexpensive (compared to other plastics). In theory, it should only cost about $30 to replace a typical piece of cladding, but the part suppliers want their $$$. The parts are cheep, It requires little labor to replace and no special skills are required to replace them. Yet you will probably pay $150 to replace one. Go figure.   Most plastic body panels (not cladding or bumper fascias) are molded of higher grade materials and are usually molded black and are painted. You can't get the color match or the gloss level auto makers desire without painting. These better materials are expensive (so much for "cheap plastic"). They will not dent or crease. they will crack or even shatter when hit very hard (i.e. an accident). The only cars with molded-in color body panels are the Smart cars in Europe and then only the yellow, black, and red ones are not painted. These are also hard coated to protect from UV and add gloss.   hope this gets the plastic facts straight.

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