Hi Barry:

I mistakenly did this with a set of aluminum panniers I had back home. Moisture/dirt got trapped and it began to corrode/deteriorate the aluminum (turning into that white powdery stuff).

Nevertheless, if you're keen on it ... you can check out the Muxiyuan materials market in Beijing. It has everything you could possibly imagine, including Russian Sable (complete with heads). Go to Google Maps, and type in 39.85403,116.402096 ... it is just behind the mobile phone market on the S 3rd ring road, along the road that heads SE from the bridge. The market is several blocks long, and is about a block deep on each side. If you can't find a material here, it doesn't exist.

One better option, IMHO, are pannier inserts made from a tough, cloth material. They are handy because they provide some shock absorption, but also have handles to make it easy to lift the bags out and take into a hotel. Tourfella used to make them, but apparently no longer does. But if you left a pannier with one of the materials shops in the market, the shop could easily custom-make some. You'd just need to decide what material you would like the bag made out of.

Wish you every success ... and then I can copy it!