Can acoustic panels be painted?

I've "seen/heard the light" and am planning DIY acoustic panels + bass trap(s), to tame the back wave and bass nodes of my Summit setup (see post http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showpost.php?p=71454&postcount=52)

My initial idea is to use Owens Corning 703 or 705 fiberglass panels, covered in off-white burlap (or similar material) and faux painted to match my walls. However, I'm now wondering if painting the fabric will essentially negate their absorption effect? I don't plan a heavy application of paint, just enough to blend in with the walls. I know that Acoustic Sciences offers "picture panels", which I presume have a painted surface (http://www.asc-hifi.com/picture-panel.htm) Alternatively, I could use a complementary fabric from Guilford of Main, but a custom-matched finish would have much higher WAF.

I would also be worried about painting the burlap.

Rather than trying to match the paint color, you might want to try a contrasting / complementing color of cloth. To me this would look better, Also if you let your wife pick out the color before starting this would involve her early on and may help with WAF.

--burke

Burke said:

I would also be worried about painting the burlap.

Rather than trying to match the paint color, you might want to try a contrasting / complementing color of cloth. To me this would look better, Also if you let your wife pick out the color before starting this would involve her early on and may help with WAF.

--burke

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Come on, WAF! He's planning on putting big hunks of burlap covered fiberglass ON THE WALLS! Nothing can make that better.

Painting them will negate the whole idea by making them much more reflective.

I wouldn't. Changing the material on the outside surface of the acoustic panel is bound to change its acoustic properties.

Have you considered pro audio for acoustic treatment choices?

http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio/acoustic-treatment/

The above lists a lot of different treatments.

Lets face it ! Women will not ever get this hobby of ours. Don't for one second think we can fool them with a painted burlap wall hanging.

I am blessed mine does not care ! She actually likes the High end Audio and she is a snob as she is spoiled. I learned her right..Get her done

Thanks all! Guess it was wishful thinking that I could just slap on a bit of paint, and "blend" the panels right in! I wonder how the ASC Picture Panels are made? I suppose I could take a high-res photo of my faux painted wall, and have them make custom picture panels to match! Would be pretty $$$ though. Guess I'll just narrow it down to a few acoustic fabric selections, and let my wife have the final choice.

C.A.P said:

Lets face it ! Women will not ever get this hobby of ours. Don't for one second think we can fool them with a painted burlap wall hanging.

I am blessed mine does not care ! She actually likes the High end Audio and she is a snob as she is spoiled. I learned her right..Get her done

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Mine too. She was behind my getting a Koetsu Rosewood one Christmas, and she thinks that the CLX looks great.

sleepysurf said:

However, I'm now wondering if painting the fabric will essentially negate their absorption effect? I don't plan a heavy application of paint, just enough to blend in with the walls.

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don't think "paint". think "dye". you can get any colour and the acoustical changes will be minimal.

sleepysurf said:

Alternatively, I could use a complementary fabric from Guilford of Main, but a custom-matched finish would have much higher WAF.

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It is simplest to do this; they have quite a range of colours. That's the stuff I used.

C.A.P said:

Lets face it ! Women will not ever get this hobby of ours. Don't for one second think we can fool them with a painted burlap wall hanging.

I am blessed mine does not care ! She actually likes the High end Audio and she is a snob as she is spoiled. I learned her right..Get her done

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Yes, my wife has enjoyed looking through the "Members' Systems" on occasion. She has also suggested we do different things that she has seen in those rooms.

OK - now guys, I wanna see nothing but Statement E2xs and top-end ARC gear in the members' area ..........one day she might suggest "we" get some Statements !!

zaphod said:

don't think "paint". think "dye". you can get any colour and the acoustical changes will be minimal.

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^^ Bingo! Ask for Rit Dye at any craft store or check them out online: http://www.ritdye.com/ I'm sure there are lots of similar products on the market, but Rit has been around forever.

- Jason

JasonR said:

^^ Bingo! Ask for Rit Dye at any craft store or check them out online: http://www.ritdye.com/ I'm sure there are lots of similar products on the market, but Rit has been around forever.

- Jason

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Well, I'm sure Rit would work for tie-dying, but I don't think it can create a Faux finish! If anybody knows how, please point me to some online instruction!

Alan,

I am in the same stage as you now that I have the new room to work with. I am leaning towards the OC 705 (DIY) because the price is just too right. Your recent posts have done much for my research process on treatments. You still contemplating DIYing your project?
I want a black look to the panels and thinking about pulling some speaker grill cloth to finish the look. I would assume that wouldn't change the panel's properties much at all. I have also seen some close to the colors of your walls (or complement in the very least). Might be a route to consider.

At this point, I won't have time for DIY until end of the year, so I'm looking for a commercial solution. Frankly, I'm willing to pay more $$ for acoustic treatments than cables. Since my listening room is my Family Room, I need something that passes the WAF test. I think I might have found the solution here, see post...
http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showpost.php?p=73413&postcount=3

Looks good. I am looking to panel (w/covers) my whole room for the price of 2 to 3 of those

You CAN paint fabric with dyes like RIT or Procion, using brushes, airbrushes, or even rollers. Because it is a dye, it doesn't effect the absorptive or flexibility properties of the fabric.

Painting on fabrick is a LOT different than the sort of "faux finishing" that you do on walls or furniture though. It tends to be VERY fast-drying, not very "workable", and layering colors usually creates more of a mess than a "special effect". Some dyes even change color slightly when you "fix" them, depending on the fabric. Read up on the techniques, and do a LOT of experiments on small swatches, all the way through, to "fixing", before you attempt painting a big piece, because it's ENTIRELY different than using "paint".

The problem with this method of dying is getting the dye to "fix" permanently to the fabric. In "batch dying", you bring th edye to a boil, and immerse the fabric. But for painting dye onto fabric, you need to use another method of heat fixing. The most common method is to steam-fix the dye, using some sort of steaming setup. Amateur silk painters who do small objects like scarves or blouses use a BIG kettle with a steamer basket. For something like a piece of fabric large enough to cover an acoustic panel, though, you might have to think even bigger--like a garbage can with a custom-made chicken wire steamer basket and a propane crab-pot burner.

Natural fabrics like cotton, linen, silk, and hemp are relatively easy to dye this way. Synthetics are impossible to permanently dye this way. Most cheap burlap is blended fabric--a mixture of natural and synthetic fibers, so check the fiber content of the fabric you'r egoing to buy if you plan on dying it yourself...

Get online and Google "silk painting". You will find a lot of info on painting dyes onto fabrics and heat-setting.

Also, check out Dharma Trading. They sell fabric and ALL sorts of dyes for just this sort of thing, but they cater to the more artsy-fartsy crowd. They have a LOT of VERY good how-to info on their website.

--Richard

Hmmm, interesting... but I'd hafta quit my day job to make time for all that! Good info though!

Now the plot thickens! GIK Acoustics just announced their new Table Trap... a combo bass trap/end table... BRILLIANT idea IMHO. I'm still debating which particular absorptive panels to use behind my Summits, but in the meantime, just ordered one of their Table Traps, in as well as one of their Pillar Traps (custom 36" height to use as a corner pedestal). After assessing what effect they have in the room, I'll move on with further treatments. Details about the new Table Trap here...
[URL="http://www.gikacoustics.com/gik_elite_table.html"]http://www.gikacoustics.com/gik_elite_table.html[/URL]

Nice pick up, that will look much better then a triangle or a 4 inch panel straddling the corner of your room.