Seat Pan Desired Thickness?

[1sttimer]

I'm looking to build a seat pan out of metal for my custom CB175 cafe seat. I'd like the pan to be formable so I can have it follow the seat profile up the cowl and then also have a nice upsweep at the front to meet the tank at the reveal.

I don't want something too heavy but it needs to be heavy enough to hold the bend up the cowl. I'm going to use velcro to hold it in place on the seat once it's wrapped.

Any thoughts on ideal material thickness I should use for this application?

 

[1sttimer]

Here's a few pics of the shape:

 

[Scruffy]

Maximum 16 gauge, minimum 20 gauge. Old street signs work great if you or a friend can weld aluminum. Otherwise get some steel about the same thickness as 1973-87 Chevy truck hoods.

 

[SONICJK]

As scruff alluded to, 18ga is the way to go IMO. Heavy enough to not feel like tin foil but light enough to bend easily enough.

 

[1sttimer]

Thanks guys, would you recommend aluminum at all? I don't think I'm going to have to weld it.

 

[Scruffy]

Aluminum is preferred.

 

[crqcycles]

I've been using fiber glass with no issues at all.

 

[Beeweldmut]

Most large appliances are made out of 18ga if you need a cheap source material. Look for an old washing machine since the are usually easy to cut apart and have minimal on the sides.