I swear long ago there was an outfit selling paint intended for speaker cabinet interiors. Trade name was "Black Hole", claim was paint the interior of your speakers cabinets with this stuff - they'll sound better. I cant find it on the market these days...
We do have the so-called rubberized paints, for tool handles and - I guess people fix car interior upholstery, paint their alloy wheels with such stuff. "Plasti-Dip" and "Flex-Seal" are two current brands.
My question is, has anyone used this stuff for their speaker cabinet interiors, in an effort to improve panel damping and absorb sound - as the original product I think I remember once existing was supposed to do?
I've got the back-sides and edges of a couple panels to paint yet and I was wondering of there would be any advantage to using this stuff, versus ordinary paint. It wouldnt be that expensive to try.
We do have the so-called rubberized paints, for tool handles and - I guess people fix car interior upholstery, paint their alloy wheels with such stuff. "Plasti-Dip" and "Flex-Seal" are two current brands.
My question is, has anyone used this stuff for their speaker cabinet interiors, in an effort to improve panel damping and absorb sound - as the original product I think I remember once existing was supposed to do?
I've got the back-sides and edges of a couple panels to paint yet and I was wondering of there would be any advantage to using this stuff, versus ordinary paint. It wouldnt be that expensive to try.
Snake oil/marketing con. Stick to tried and tested methods and don't waste your money on magic solutions! A rule-of-thumb in industrial applications is to apply damping materials of approximately 50% of the panel's mass being treated - a coat of paint will do practically nothing to damp an enclosure. As for absorption, even less effect...
Try it and you tell us. 🙂
From a purely physical point of view, a comparatively thin layer of paint (1 mm or so?) won´t do MUCH to tame 15-20mm thick "wooden" panels, but hey, if it´s easy and inexpensive ....
For best vibration absorption/damping it should be "lossy", meaning never fully cured/hardened but staying in a somewhat plastic state.
In general, taming resonant "anything" (electrical - mechanical - Audio) implies introducing resistive elements in series or parallel, depending on equivalent circuit, but in all cases absorbing resonant energy and dissipating it as heat.
Personally (not saying you do that, just what I would try in my cabinets or annoying vibrating furniture or walls) would be a layer of some tar-like paint (or thick acrylic roof sealant which I already have to dope my own speaker edges), applying a cloth layer (guess cotton/canvas would be fine) while still quite sticky and then hand brush a thick coat over it.
Notice such sealant dampens/tames speakers very well, this would be an extension of that use.
"Should" be quite neutral and vibration absorbing, which can be easily checked by hitting panel with knuckles or a small hammer.
Best would be to try a side by side treated/untreated panel comparison.
Experimenting beats guessing any day of the week 😉
From a purely physical point of view, a comparatively thin layer of paint (1 mm or so?) won´t do MUCH to tame 15-20mm thick "wooden" panels, but hey, if it´s easy and inexpensive ....
For best vibration absorption/damping it should be "lossy", meaning never fully cured/hardened but staying in a somewhat plastic state.
In general, taming resonant "anything" (electrical - mechanical - Audio) implies introducing resistive elements in series or parallel, depending on equivalent circuit, but in all cases absorbing resonant energy and dissipating it as heat.
Personally (not saying you do that, just what I would try in my cabinets or annoying vibrating furniture or walls) would be a layer of some tar-like paint (or thick acrylic roof sealant which I already have to dope my own speaker edges), applying a cloth layer (guess cotton/canvas would be fine) while still quite sticky and then hand brush a thick coat over it.
Notice such sealant dampens/tames speakers very well, this would be an extension of that use.
"Should" be quite neutral and vibration absorbing, which can be easily checked by hitting panel with knuckles or a small hammer.
Best would be to try a side by side treated/untreated panel comparison.
Experimenting beats guessing any day of the week 😉
I’ve used neither, but if you’re interested in experimenting, Parts Express has this: https://www.parts-express.com/Acry-Tech-Acoust-X-1-Gal-Absorption-Coating-Paintable-Dampin-260-105 or McMaster has this: https://www.mcmaster.com/9545T2/ (which is a product called Silent Running SR 500 that other diyaudio forum members have used). I used something similar to the Silent Running SR 500 years ago on a scavenged piece of aluminum I used to make a turntable shelf, and it absolutely stopped the metal from ringing. How that would translate to a wooden cabinet....