AlexJet

I was thinking of making custom made Skid Plate for my 4Runner. “Real” skid plate which should replace thin stock one (already bent in many places) and go over transfer case.
I’m a little bit confused in two things regarding skid plate:
1. Thickness. How thick Skid Plate should be 1/8”, 3/16”, ¼” or something else? What about weight? Is ¼” will be too heavy?
2. Material. What material should I use for the Skid Plate? I like original “steel” color for it. This means no painting it to anything; I also don't want it look rusty in a time.
Here is an image of IFS skid plate on BudBuilt website. I’m looking for something like that one.

http://www.budbuilt.com/new/images/ifs_front_skid.jpg

Localmotion

I would jump on the group buy we are having.

call bud and he'll answer any questions for you. He is truly a great guy!

AlexJet

Already did it. The problem is that Bud making the Skid Plate for 3rd Gen. I have 4th Gen. Nobody makes Full Skid Plates (Engine + Transfer Case) for 4th Gen.

Localmotion

ahhh i see. Sorry I couldnt help ya!

garrett1478

i would say no less than 1/8" and no more than 3/16". that doesnt leave you much wiggle room, but those are good armor thicknesses. 1/4" would be overkill and ridiculously heavy to put on/take off.

the old AZRAIN skids are 1/8" (i think?) and budbuilt's are 3/16" and they have both been proven.

as for the 'steel color', i guess you could just clear coat it to keep the bare steel color and prevent rust. or you could get one made from stainless.

AlexJet

garrett1478,
So you recommend to with 3/16 and clear-coated it...

garrett1478

sure. 1/8" would work fine im sure. it would be a lot lighter too. if it turns out to gouge/dent too easily, you could go back and put in angle iron supports.

steve has a great reference page for skidplates: http://sonoransteel.com/skid.html

clear coat or stainless. but one thing to remember is this. when a skid is painted black and gets scratched, it is easy to see where to touch up to prevent rust. when you scratch clear coat, you're not going to know where the bare metal is until it starts rusting.

tc

Bud's steel is pickled and oiled, which passivates the surface so it should be good for quite some time before it rusts. When it starts to rust, hit it with the wire brush and paint it.

garrett1478

bud doesnt make 4th gen skid plates.

what does pickled and oiled mean?

AlexJet

Good link...Thanks

tc

Pickling is a metal finishing process whereby you use a combination of acids to clean the metal. A reducing acid (usually sulphuric or hydroflouric) actually removes the metal, an oxidizing acid (generally nitric) buffers it, controlling the reaction and passivating the surface - making it more resistant to corrosion. The effects of acid passivation are quite impressive actually. I used to have some samples that were pickled on one end and natural on the other. The pickled end was bright and shiny long after the other end had started to corrode.

Oiled means exactly what you think it means - a very light coat of oil is applied to prevent corrosion.