It apparently dries to a rubber/flexible material, so one checkmark ok.
In order to be effective, it has to be heavy. I have used bitumen roofing sheets (plain bitumen, no rocks) and they are pretty heavy and very effective. Starting point to check could be to see volumetric weight at the manufacturer's site. How many pounds/kg per liter?
Finally, you need the material to be chemically inert, so it doesn't produce fumes after setting. These fumes, depending on material composition, could be detrimental to the adhesives and materials of the drivers. The seller site doesn't have any composition information other than "rubber paste".
The only problem - and a real one - I can envisage is that it will be very expensive. A 3lb jar is $29.99 and it might be enough for a single small bookshelf speaker. I bought a roll of bitumen sheet for slightly more and have used half of it for treating 3 sets of floorstanding enclosures. It will last me plenty more. And since what you need is a flexible, energy absorbing material in good contact with the panels, sheets glued on are pretty efficient and cost effective.
I would not, though, dismiss the idea of using flex paste in a cartridge to treat the seams of the enclosure internally to improve sealing. I normally use a cordon of wood glue that is absorbed, contracts and seals well, and am happy with it.
In order to be effective, it has to be heavy. I have used bitumen roofing sheets (plain bitumen, no rocks) and they are pretty heavy and very effective. Starting point to check could be to see volumetric weight at the manufacturer's site. How many pounds/kg per liter?
Finally, you need the material to be chemically inert, so it doesn't produce fumes after setting. These fumes, depending on material composition, could be detrimental to the adhesives and materials of the drivers. The seller site doesn't have any composition information other than "rubber paste".
The only problem - and a real one - I can envisage is that it will be very expensive. A 3lb jar is $29.99 and it might be enough for a single small bookshelf speaker. I bought a roll of bitumen sheet for slightly more and have used half of it for treating 3 sets of floorstanding enclosures. It will last me plenty more. And since what you need is a flexible, energy absorbing material in good contact with the panels, sheets glued on are pretty efficient and cost effective.
I would not, though, dismiss the idea of using flex paste in a cartridge to treat the seams of the enclosure internally to improve sealing. I normally use a cordon of wood glue that is absorbed, contracts and seals well, and am happy with it.
I have often used bitumen based paste and paints for panel damping and it works very well. Have never used rubber.
As SaSI mentions, beware of fumes. I always allow a long cure time before closing up the box.
As SaSI mentions, beware of fumes. I always allow a long cure time before closing up the box.
Yeah, I didn't think about the fumes aspect. Good point.
I figured that even if it is not very heavy, it would be pretty easy to embed something in the paste before it sets.
I've also used bitumen before, and it is quite effective. I'm just always thinking about new options...
Material like that (my fav is thick latex paint loaded with bits of cork) can be very helpful on thin metal, like before you install a dishwasher in your kitchen.
With my lack of carpentry skills, the old joke about no hole to big to fix with RTV silicone rubber (which I suppose is what that paste is) fits me. So I'd just trowel the paste on to joints, weight down, and come back later.
With my lack of carpentry skills, the old joke about no hole to big to fix with RTV silicone rubber (which I suppose is what that paste is) fits me. So I'd just trowel the paste on to joints, weight down, and come back later.
Interesting about the dishwasher thing. When renovating a house my wife insisted on a fancy Bosch dishwasher. Damn that thing was quiet. We went from hardly being able to hear the TV in the living room with the old dishwasher to "What's that? Do you hear that little sound of water running? What is it?" Amazing.
The Bosch had a thick coat of something black and soft all over the case. Whatever they used and however they did it, it was near miraculous.
The Bosch had a thick coat of something black and soft all over the case. Whatever they used and however they did it, it was near miraculous.
The difference between the deluxe dishwasher for an extra $150 may be $5 (manufacturer's cost) in acoustic control materials*.
On the topic of Flex Paste and its cousin, cork-infused latex paint, for similar applications, there is one more cousin-product for sound control: self-stick aluminum pipe wrap.
It is very heavy aluminum foil roll, about 5 inches wide, with one-eighth inch gooey sticky stuff. Easy to build up layers of it too. Hence once in place, it acts like Flex Paste. Only tool needed is a scissors.
So the three differ in how they are applied but the acoustic result is similar in dry environments.
B.
*I bought a Bosch recently. A variety of other reasons it is so quiet.... and slow.
On the topic of Flex Paste and its cousin, cork-infused latex paint, for similar applications, there is one more cousin-product for sound control: self-stick aluminum pipe wrap.
It is very heavy aluminum foil roll, about 5 inches wide, with one-eighth inch gooey sticky stuff. Easy to build up layers of it too. Hence once in place, it acts like Flex Paste. Only tool needed is a scissors.
So the three differ in how they are applied but the acoustic result is similar in dry environments.
B.
*I bought a Bosch recently. A variety of other reasons it is so quiet.... and slow.
Yes. Heavy and the combination of aluminum and thick gooey layer is very dead (not at all like thin aluminum foil).
One application of these coatings might be to wrap around off-the-shelf BR plastic port ducts or loose components on XO boards, like the way Wharfdale used wax in ancient times.
B.