Does anyone have any input on what the grade of plastic our Slingshot is made of? In particular the black plastic in the stern and side areas. Is this what they call ABS plastic and if so is there a differentiation between bendable and forming plastic stock? I would like to buy a sheet of this to fill some areas but would like it to be automotive or should I say Slingshot quality. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
SS plastic?
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not automotive....marine....it’s used on boats....find it on eBay in different thicknesses.....
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not automotive....marine....it’s used on boats....find it on eBay in different thicknesses.....
ABS marine as a search?
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Yes
just do an internet search and there are lots of sites besides eBay selling it.
make sure it’s textured to match the slingshot -
I made this visor from a flat piece of 1/4” marine abs
bent it over a piece of pipe with a heat gun.. -
There is just so much online it makes it difficult to choose. You mentioned textured however I would consider ours to be smooth. Sure would be nice if there was a local store where you could go put your hands on it
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The bathtub is textured
my hood things are textured like the spoilerRear deck gas cap and accents are textured
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I am p[pretty sure it is not ABS
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If you look at the mold side of the part it should have a date square where it will give you the date of molding and also material id.
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if you want to match the texture of our black plastic.... -
There is just so much online it makes it difficult to choose. You mentioned textured however I would consider ours to be smooth. Sure would be nice if there was a local store where you could go put your hands on it
look closer at our tub.
Some of the newer slingshots have smooth black hood panels...
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Thermoplastic Olefin or TPO for short.
Probably chemically treated with UV properties.
As gooseman said above.
Take a look inside the tub down in the well beside the passenger seat. There's a big square date box with the TPO designation.
Don't have any idea how much material you might need, but...
You might find what you need cheaper in the auto junk yards.
Most rocker panels, front lower radiator air dams, and rear exhaust rumble panels are made from this stuff.
For cheaper prices.
Tell them you don't need perfect pieces.
Be willing to remove it yourself...
Take the parts you want from shaded areas...
Make sure it is flexible, not brittle.
The hard part will probably be finding any large flat areas as most will have some radius for strength.
And if you decide to take painted parts and strip the paint...
The plastic will be not grained and will not have UV treatment.
Or Google on!
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marine abs is made for boat decks.....in the sun all year long...
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I am going to try my hand at doing some personal side gap fillers. I am a complete novice at this however have read extensively today. If it doesn’t work I’m out about 50 bucks. If it does I will have something that I hope will be much cleaner and less clunky than what I am seeing online.
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if you want to match the texture of our black plastic....I have a 2016 base model and the tub plastic is what I would consider quite smooth. I have ordered off of eBay four different lengths and types so we shall see. As usual I really appreciate everybody’s input thank you so much!
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SoCal , the ABS plastic that Bigdog directed you toward will probably work better in your project than TPO, but not for reasons stated by Bigdog .
With ABS, you may be able to shape with heat application; whereas with TPO, it would melt or burn through before it would shape.
Your question was, in a nutshell...
What type plastic is used in the tub of the Slingshot?
Bigdog 's answer was his typical "throw enough shit at the wall..."
As for marine grade... it is more a designation for designed use... other properties of the product may not be desirable.
Let us know how your project rolls.
And as always...
Pics, or it didn't happen.
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I have a 2016 base model and the tub plastic is what I would consider quite smooth. I have ordered off of eBay four different lengths and types so we shall see. As usual I really appreciate everybody’s input thank you so much!
I also contemplated making my own gap fillers from textured marine plastic.....I wouldn’t use 1/4” thickness....to hard to shape.
Contemplated cutting and plastic welding the pieces together...need proper welding equipment
Making wooden molds to shape the material over....very time consuming.
ended up buying gap filler for $375...... I’m very happy with the quality and the look of them. -
SoCal , the ABS plastic that Bigdog directed you toward will probably work better in your project than TPO, but not for reasons stated by Bigdog .
With ABS, you may be able to shape with heat application; whereas with TPO, it would melt or burn through before it would shape.
Your question was, in a nutshell...
What type plastic is used in the tub of the Slingshot?
Bigdog 's answer was his typical "throw enough shit at the wall..."
As for marine grade... it is more a designation for designed use... other properties of the product may not be desirable.
Let us know how your project rolls.
And as always...
Pics, or it didn't happen.
thank you! The boiling point of the ABS is a handful of degrees more than boiling water. I have seen people able to shape this material easily. Many many times I look back on projects and say to myself for all the time money and effort I put into this I could’ve just gone and bought one. The two barrel bag aluminum racks that I madeare a prime example. However I am super happy with how they came out. My Fun with motorcycles and the Slingshot is tinkering and I am blessed to have the time and materials and some talent to enjoy doing these things. We will see what happens!🙂
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I also contemplated making my own gap fillers from textured marine plastic.....I wouldn’t use 1/4” thickness....to hard to shape.
Contemplated cutting and plastic welding the pieces together...need proper welding equipment
Making wooden molds to shape the material over....very time consuming.
ended up buying gap filler for $375...... I’m very happy with the quality and the look of them.thank you! I am working in this area as well however the ABS plastic that I will be tinkering with will be on the right and left side. I am looking to fill that area between the tub and the side pieces. This area has always been a “scratch my head area” in that it was never filled in in my opinion well. And the aftermarket part for this, for me personally looks a little clunky.
Again thank you everybody for jumping in on this and offering help.