Covering RPG Skyline with fabric

Most likely not by much but could compromise there diffusion quality with fabric. I would contact RPG they have a large line of possible fabric choices and should guide much better then taking pot luck.

no. not at all.

Of course it will work perfectly. Just use something similar to speaker grills - as near enough acoustically transparent as you can find.

Guilford of Maine is well known for acoustic fabrics. You can find a dealer or try direct - a web search will get you there. There fabric is used for a wide variety of acoustic treatments as well as speaker covers.

Whatever you attempt to cover the thing with, it will look even funkier. You know, what with the random length protruding blocks and all. Besides, better effort spent damping the thing.

Cheers

I need to do it for purely aesthetic reason.They are pure white, and my front wall is painted in fairly dark burgundy color.
To paint Skylines?- too much work and messy, that's why covering them with fabric seems like an option

Or you could sell the Skylines and purchase the diffuser panels from Acoustical Solutions that are already fabric covered with many color options.

The fabric may sag or wrinkle over time, it certainly did with my tuning panels. Furutech did not help me at all..

An email exchange with Furutech…

Me: I bought a pair of RWL-1 tuning panels five years ago and have the original boxes/packing. Over time the silk material has wrinkled and sagged (I suppose gravity is doing it’s thing). Can you repair this cosmetic flaw somehow or replace the panels for me? They're unusable as is, I'd be happy to email you pictures.

Furutech:

I am sorry to hear of the problem you are experiencing with the room tuning panels. If possible, please email us and image of the sagging silk cover, so we can have a better understanding of the problem.

Me: Thanks for the quick reply, attached please find a picture..

Furutech:

I am afraid not much can be done about these wrinkles. It is a special silk, so applying water would only make it worse. However the effectiveness of the panel with not be diminished by the wrinkles in the silk.

Me: I agree with you, I wouldn’t try to use water or steam on them. The panels obviously add value in my sound, however looking the way they do now I cannot use them. Given the price of these panels, and Furutech’s reputation for first class products I thought you would repair them, or if that’s not possible, replace them. Please advise, and thank you.

Furutech:

The wall panels are a discontinued item and Furutech no longer carries stock, but it may be possible to repair the two panels. Unfortunately, as the product is no longer covered by Furutech’s one year manufacturer’s warranty, they would need to be returned to Tokyo at your expense and repair costs charged. Shipping costs for 1 set (2pcs) would be JPY59,450≒USD735 from Oregon USA to Tokyo and repair cost would be advised after the repair is complete. Please let me know if you would like to proceed

Me: That is certainly not what I expected from a premium manufacturer such as Furutech. The only practical solution at this point is to fix them myself; can you provide some instructions/guidance on how to go about repairing the panels?

No response from Furutech…

I would paint them. The addition of a fabric cover is not going to really 'hide them' well, being they are white, and you want a dark cover. And making a cover, and a frame etc.. If the cover was enough to really hide them, then it is no longer really transparent to the sound either.
So i say take the time and paint the things.
Cannot be any worse than painting concrete blocks..
Just need patience.

What kind of paint would you use? Latex? I know, that spray paint is not suitable, it can damage the panel.

If i were painting the panels. I would start with a coating to seal the material. A waterbased flat paint, some sort of primer. A dark color primer.
You could ask the paint dept at the store what would be a suitable brushed on primer for the material.
Then just use the same paint that is actually ON the walls would be fine.
This warning is on the RPG site:

WARNING:
The Skyline® is fabricated from flame- retardant, high- density expanded polystyrene foam. It is the nature of this material to have rough surface imperfections and contain steam vent holes. Some of these imperfections can be partially concealed by a factory paint process. If you are interested in a painted product, RPG® offers a painted version in Duron Multispec Fine Fleck paint. RPG® does not recommend that the Skyline® be painted in the field and assumes no responsibility for any damage resulting from field painting.

BUT:
So as long as you use a primer suitable for the polystyrene foam, you are good to go.
(IMO you will have zero problems painting the panels IF you use a proper primer coating.)
Added: the panels are a size for a specific frequency.
If you used the calculations and made panels that were sized for the problematical frequencies in your room, they would be more effective.
If you just Google RPG Skyline, in the first page are a discussion of do it yourself with several lists of the calculations, and referneces to the method of calculation.
If I were to use the theory (which by the way is NOT copywrited for making panels) you could make panels suitable for any room
This comment is more for others interested in these devices...
I would make some out of wood... though that is a very heavy and work intensive process. Other materials might work too.
Making one, and replicating that one in a poured material from a home made casting could be the easiest means of making many of them.

Maril555,

I have RPG skylines that I had RPG paint for me. I do not know if they used any type of undercoating when they paint them but they did use the exact paint that I specified for them that I used on my ceiling - same brand, type and color. By looking at them, I would guess that they use a paint spray gun to do this as the paint is very thinly applied. YOu could probably just call them and find out the specifics of what they do. I would also agree that it would be very difficult to cover them with an acoustic fabric. Covering something with acoustic fabric usually works best if you are covering a smooth, flat surface which as you know is not what an RPG Skyling is. I suspect you would need to do lots of cutting of the fabric to make this work effectively. Painting is the way to go.

Thank you guys. Just a comment about covering them with fabric. If I were to do it, I would simply make a flat fabric screen in front of the panel, kind of like speaker grill.

I painted the damn things with latex paint. Came out just fine.