“I notice that there are different facings on fiberglass boards. What is the significance?”
After checking out fiberglass boards, one may notice that boards come plain or faced. Furthermore, the facings can be different which may add to the confusion. There are two basic facings an acoustic fiberglass board may have, plain (no facing) or faced. A facing is a fiberglass fabric using the same material that is in the board, fiberglass fibers and a binder, although the fiberglass fibers in the mat facing are much longer.
This facing can provide two advantages.
1. An applied facing ensures that the face of the board is smooth. In rare instances, an air pocket, or divot, can appear on the face of the board. Manufacturers have safeguards that protect against this from happening but considering the nature of the make up of the board it is possible.
2. Helps stop the amber color of the fiberglass showing up through a light fabric. The dark amber color of fiberglass boards can really wreak havoc for a designer/architect that specifies a certain fabric for the acoustic panel assuming they seek a particular look. A thin white fabric can easily look yellow if not treated correctly.
Different manufacturers offer their own options.
Johns Manville offer their acoustic board, Whispertone either faced or unfaced. Knauf offers their board plain, although we can have the board faced with a white, brown, or black facing. Silentfiber Board come with two types of facings MFL and MFH. MFL, Mat Face Light is akin to a plain board. It is a thin lightweight fabric that telegraphs the color of the board quite well while assuring a smooth face. MFH, Mat Face Heavy, boards give a whiter appearance and is like the Johns Manville Whispertone facing.
If your installation setting is heavily dependent on the appearance of a light fabric that will cover acoustic board, the recommendation is to use white SilentPoly as it is ‘sheet of paper’ white.
Samples are always available from Sound Acoustic Solutions to allow you to double check if your desired finish fabrics will work with the desired acoustic board, or to see which acoustic boards works best