Frequently Asked Questions.
- Q: Can Acousti-Coat be Tinted?
- ANS: YES, you can get the coating tinted locally but due to its high pigment content it can only be tinted to light pastel colors. When tinting any paint, at any paint store, using any color system the odds of the paint matching the color chip are slim, adjustments to the formula need to be made in most cases. Generally Acousti-Coat will tint lighter than the color chip, if you want it darker simply ask the store clerk to add more colorant.
- Q: Can I paint over Acousti-Coat without hurting its sound deadening properties?
- ANS: Yes. Say you want a deep accent color on the wall or a color darker than AC can be tinted, Apply two coats of AC and then topcoat it with the color of your choice. When painting over AC try to use the Least Expensive Paint you can buy. Inexpensive flat latex coatings have very little resin in them and a high water content, resin destroys the sound absorbing properties of AC.
- Q: My son plays drums in our garage, will AC keep the noise from going through the walls into our house?
- ANS: NO, Acousti-Coat is not designed for EXTREME sound control nor will it help with sound transfer through; Wall penetrations, Door and window openings, Stomping and banging from the floor above, or a blasting powerful stereo in your neighbor's unit next door.
Extreme sound problems of this nature require extensive sound control applications, all very expensive and very complicated. Acousti-Coat was developed as a relatively inexpensive, easy to apply solution for situations where echo within the room needs to be reduced and where sound in the Speech Range frequencies needs to be reduced through the coated surface.- Q: Can You Guarantee a 30% reduction of sound?
- ANS: NO: As we cannot control the application, and due to a wide variety of wall configurations, the amount of sound reduction will vary tremendously from one application to the next. Considering that most conventional sound deadening products available are 3" thick or greater, one can only expect so much from an application that is 30-40 thousands of an inch thick.
- Q: Does Acousti-Coat leave a texture on the wall?
- ANS: YES, AC is a very heavy bodied coating and will produce a texture, the amount depends on how thick your roller cover is and how many coats you apply. a 1 3/4" nap roller cover will leave quite a stipple on the coated surface, a 3/4" nap, not so much. Most folks find that the texture is quite beneficial as its hides surface defects and blemishes.
- Q: Does Acousti-Coat provide any insulation?
- ANS: YES, AC is formulated with a very high concentration of our Insulating Ceramic Microspheres AND several special, trade secret, pigment particles that are not only effective in blocking sound but also heat!
- Q: Can Acousti-Coat be washed?
- ANS: YES, but remember it is a very soft coating so do not use strong detergents and avoid vigorous "scrubbing". In high traffic or harsh use applications such as hallways in nursing homes, game rooms etc., we recommend coating the entire wall with Acousti-Coat and then applying a wainscot say 4' up from the floor. For a wainscot you can use an inexpensive wood paneling or apply one coat of an inexpensive latex semi-gloss enamel.
- Q: I have read everything and am not sure what to do.
- ANS: Your options are really quite simple...Apply Two coats of Acousti-Coat which will cost you about .45 per square foot for materials and is relatively easy to apply with low odor, and soap and water cleanup.
OR Use one of the more conventional sound control applications such as sound absorbing wall coverings (two lbs per sq ft average) , $2.00 per ft and up, Sound foams and mat's, (not very attractive), $1.50 and up, or you can always add a second layer of drywall with a small dead airspace in-between $7.00 per sq ft and up, all very labor intensive to install and all quite messy.HY-TECH formulators worked for over one year in developing Acousti-Coat in partnership with DOVLAR Corp, Israel, one of the worlds leading sound design engineering firms. By utilizing DOVLARS engineering resources and Hy-Tech's paint chemistry resources we offer what we feel is the least expensive, easiest to apply sound control solutions available to the public today. Our research continues on a daily basis not only on Acousti-Coat but all of our coatings and you can be assured that the products you receive are the most advanced the industry has to offer.For industrial sound control applications see Hy-Tech #SC1000.