Mudflaps

[Griff]

Has anybody got templates for front and/or back mudflaps?:( I want to make some from Kaylan, I can get them lazer cut, and figure the brackets to mount them, but I am not having much luck with bits of card in trying to make some templates, and I'm fed up with the sides of the car being pebble dashed!!
Any help would be really appreciated

[ChrisCar6]

Buy the standard rectangles and bolt them on - that was my approach, nothing complicated

[turbonutter]

That worked for me as well :)

[john]

Laser cut mudflaps!?!?

[strat24v]

Laser cut mudflaps!?!?

A flowjet would be more suitable for cutting Kaylan surely?? ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpDpnmyYraQ

[Allora#2]

Kaylan?

http://www.kaylan.co.uk/en/sectors/motorsports

also now i know it! :)

[Griff]

When ever I'm thinking about making stuff for the car, I'm always trying to incorporate repeatability into the process so that we don't have to keep reinventing the wheel.
Chris, Neil what size are your standard rectangles, and do you have any photos? ta

Griff

[turbonutter]

The Standard Rectangles are 500x300mm & the ones Rally Design sell are Kaylan!

I dont have any decent photos from my car, but here is a couple from Chris's Car - Hope you dont mind Chris :). I did something similar at the front & just bolted through the mudflap at the rear.

4826

4827

And a couple of poor shots from my car...

4828

4829

[ChrisCar6]

That saved me hunting those pics out!

[mudhut]

Let me know if the laser cutting works OK without hazardous by-products. I can also do laser cutting at work but we can't have HF or HCl in the exhaust as it does too much damage to the machine.

I'll try to investigate Kaylan but if it has any resemblance to a vinyl or PVC then it's a no go for me.

Answering my own question, it's a polyurethane.

The nitrogen atoms in it will likely produce NOx in a laser cutter - not ideal and maybe also HCN both in small quantities I'd guess so for me laser cutting is probably out unless the filter units can deal with the bad stuff.

[davehanman]

Has anybody tried cutting it with a Stanley knife ?

[strat24v]

That'd be too easy Dave and such a waste of expensive equipment :-D

[Cadami]

Has anybody tried cutting it with a Stanley knife ?
That was my method.. AND I "bit the bullet" and went with the additional expense of a new blade too!!

[Griff]

Oh dear, I do seem to have kicked up a bit of a fuss!! Yes I have tried the stanley knife and steel rule, but the result was about as straight as the average OS "white"

[jeffdavison]

Water Jet? No nastiness and a clean cut.

JD

[john]

Sorry, I don't mean to be sceptical, but let's face it, you could cut 10 sets with a Stanley knife while you are driving back and to to the Laser cutting place!
The key to cutting any plastic with a Stanley knife is a new blade, and then don't try and cut it, just score it lightly repeatedly, and it will go through straight and easily.
A hardboard template would give you all the repeatability you might need.

[Griff]

Gents, I'm going to draw a line under this, thank you for your suggestions thus far, perhaps I'll be a little more reticent before thinking about asking a question next time.

[mudhut]

Why? I thought the purpose of a forum was as much to stimulate discussion as well as seeking instant answers.

[davehanman]

OK, enough is enough, time to finally score a line under this - I suggest using Stanley Carbide blades in a VRA folding blade-holder. The carbide is laser deposited, so we can keep the laser happy, but still do it the way Lancia did it back in the '70's

Dave

[john]

Hey, that's true.
Are mudflaps 'authentic' if they are not cut the same way that Lancia did them?

[Griff]

Not so much off topic, as off planet!! replica & 'authentic'??? no can't get my head round that one


Hey, that's true.
Are mudflaps 'authentic' if they are not cut the same way that Lancia did them?

[Rene]

On the good side Griff, your books will be posted tomorrow...
And for what it is worth, I really enjoy your approach to get things done to 110%

[john]

110% is 10% wasted. That's my point.

[Griff]

My old boss used to wear a tee shirt

"Of course I don't look busy, I did it right the first time"

[john]

And that makes perfect sense.
My argument is that doing it right is doing enough.
Making a "better" job by putting more effort in than necessary or using an over complicated process to do the same job is wasteful and, as I understand it, against the better principles of engineering.
I'm not an engineer of course.....

[strat24v]

for the mudflaps to fit the body perfectly and using laser cutting, you'd need to make four patterns and four cad drawings, four lots of code. The bodywork isn't symmetrical. Cost would be rampant, better spent on decent dampers.

[Griff]

I've made the patterns today, one of the joys of retirement

[Paul]

Kaylan looks like a proprietary material available in the UK. What are more common materials used for mudflaps? I was going to just buy some sheet stock of something suitable to cut them out from, but would appreciate any recommendations on material, thickness and durometer to use
Regards
Paul

[Monte76]

I've gone with a period look which is 4mm thick black rubber sheet, easy to cut with a Stanley knife and looks right, been on the car for over 24 years so no issues with longevity.

Vince.

[Paul]

Thanks Vince
Best Regards
Paul

[mr2by4]

Would these be too much on the rear of a stradale style build? Anybody tried anything like these? NOS For Fulvia Beta etc.
7607