The core is the decision
Aluminium composite panel is two aluminium skins bonded to a core, and almost everything that matters about the finished facade follows from which core you specify. A polyethylene core is the cheapest and the easiest to fabricate. A mineral-filled core costs more and weighs more, and it is what most commercial and high-rise work now calls for.
Decide this before anything else, because it changes the price, the weight the substructure has to carry, and in many cases whether the panel is permitted on the building at all. Check the requirement on your drawing rather than assuming the default.
Skin thickness is not a detail
The aluminium skin is usually somewhere between 0.21mm and 0.50mm on each face. Thin skins are cheaper and they oil-can: the panel reads wavy in raking light, particularly on large flat cassettes facing the sun.
If the elevation is visible at close range, or the panels are large, specify the thicker skin. It is the single most common regret on a finished facade, and it cannot be corrected afterwards.
Coating decides how it ages
Polyester coatings are fine indoors and on sheltered elevations. For anything exposed, a PVDF coating holds its colour far longer, and the difference shows within a few years on a south-facing wall.
Ask for the coating type in writing, not just the colour reference. Two panels can carry the same colour code and weather completely differently.
What to send us
Panel size, core type, skin thickness, coating and finish, and the quantity. If you have a drawing, the sizes on it are enough. We will come back with availability and a price, usually the same working day.
