3M Thinsulate

[VanDwellerMod]

Hello All,

Hein & Kim (my wife) here. We are authorized by 3M to provide Thinsulate(TM) to the van/RV industries.  We have handled the product for 3 years and have helped hundreds of van folks insulate their vans. The feedback we are hearing is outstanding. The professional van up-fitters are starting to switch over to Thinsulate(TM).

Feel free to ask any questions here. Or send me a PM to request a sample.

All the best,
Hein & Kim
Impact, Inc.
Hood River, OR
54l 49O 5O98

Hi Hein and Kim.   Welcome to the forum!

You'd be more than welcome to have a thread in the Products forum if you'd like to share more about your Thinsulate product.  Go here to start that thread -- https://vanlivingforum.com/newthread.php?fid=43.

In the meantime, check out this "Tips & Tricks" post to learn more out about the forum.

 

[Vanada]

Okay, I promised I'd give my feedback / share my experience on Thinsulate and here it is! I'm going to focus more on the work-ability and generalities rather than performance because honestly, I don't know yet how it performs for heat or acoustics. Even if I had a rough idea I don't have anything to compare it against.

For 42 linear feet I paid $414.96 US plus $51.60 US shipping. That's from a 5ft wide roll so 42ft x 5ft or 210 square foot. I figure I only used 38 or 39ft for the standard Chevy Express in reality.

Cutting the insulation is very easy given a reasonably sharp and sturdy pair of scissors. I used an old set I got at the flea market for $3, sharpened them with some tin foil and once I'd figured out the feed rate and technique things went pretty smoothly. You can freehand cuts with a keen eye but to get things as straight as possible I marked most of them. This is actually pretty tricky because the fibers are so fluffy and maybe there are alternatives but I found a dot with a marker pen at intervals gave enough guidance to go on. Little bobbles of insulation do like to come away but not that much, just keep velcro away!

Getting the insulation neatly into tight, awkward or usually inaccessible spots proved really simple. A wire coat hanger sort of poker thing and some cordage for threading help! Some spots that could otherwise only be done using spray foam or perhaps broken up board insulation became an absolute breeze. It's also possible to get it into doors and around the mechanisms without really interfering with them.

I found myself getting through the recommended spray adhesive (3M 90) quite quickly. Three cans would have been preferable so that I didn't have to try and conserve. Home Depot in the US still has it at the regular price but unfortunately it recently tripled on Amazon.com for some reason. To bond properly it's necessary to spray the insulation and van interior, give a couple minutes to tack and then press the two together. A respirator is of course highly recommended along with adequate ventilation. The adhesion when used correctly is pretty excellent.

For the rear windows I have set aside pieces I cut to fit and those will be upholstered in some way when I get around to it. I also intend to make a curtain using a large piece between the cargo bay and cab.

Throughout the installation I banged on the panels from inside and out. Once the last piece for a particular panel was in the difference was noticeable. The rear door which I completed had a relatively satisfying clunk on closing although again, I can't say how it compares to deadener or other types of insulation.

Finally I decided to do some very UNSCIENTIFIC tests on a small piece. I splashed some water at it and the water repellency seemed decent, beading up as I hoped it would. Then I submerged it completely in some water. Again, it resisted the water to some degree but did seem to soak it up a bit. My understanding is that the fibers themselves don't absorb water so unless you douse the interior of your vehicle with a hose, you're probably fine. The main thing is that condensation shouldn't get trapped in there. Last but not least, I took a lighter and tried to set it on fire. Being synthetic it behaved again as expected and simply shrank back and melted. For a split second it looked like it had caught flame but it self extinguished immediately so that was encouraging.

On the whole Thinsulate is really easy to work with and for novice builders like me, it's handy in that the cuts you make are very non-committing. I made a mess of one of the roof pieces in my hurry to get things done, but that was okay because I could just patchwork a couple pieces together to fit. You could almost cut a bunch of squares and then just puzzle piece them together like tiles. Excess and little bits cut off can be stuffed into gaps and crevices to avoid wastage but do be aware that compressing more material in than needed is probably false economy. I do wish I'd taken more time to fluff up / expand out the fibres before sticking in a lot of the large blocks.

If anyone has questions I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Cheers!
Tom

 

[TrainChaser]

That eBay photo doesn't look right.  I looked up automotive Thinsulate at Google Images, none of the photos look like that (except the one from eBay).  All of the Thinsulate that I can find have a 'finished' outer layer.  That eBay photo looks like regular synthetic insulation used in comforters.  When you get it, get hold of some regular el cheapo insulation and compare the fiber thickness -- if it's really Thinsulate, it will be MUCH thinner/finer than the regular insulation.

Also, it is mainly sold as a sound deadener, and from what I am reading, that means the sound WITHIN the vehicle (shake/rattle/hollow sound), and I see nothing about using it against outside noise.

And, as Bob pointed it, it is much more expensive for half the R value of Polyiso.

Please post results, good or bad.  Yes, we might point fingers and laugh, but if it isn't what you expected, it probably wouldn't be what WE want, either.

Good luck!

 

[TrainChaser]

Whoops!  Didn't see your last post!

 

[Vanada]

That eBay photo doesn't look right.  I looked up automotive Thinsulate at Google Images, none of the photos look like that (except the one from eBay).  All of the Thinsulate that I can find have a 'finished' outer layer.  That eBay photo looks like regular synthetic insulation used in comforters.  When you get it, get hold of some regular el cheapo insulation and compare the fiber thickness -- if it's really Thinsulate, it will be MUCH thinner/finer than the regular insulation.

Also, it is mainly sold as a sound deadener, and from what I am reading, that means the sound WITHIN the vehicle (shake/rattle/hollow sound), and I see nothing about using it against outside noise.

And, as Bob pointed it, it is much more expensive for half the R value of Polyiso.

Please post results, good or bad.  Yes, we might point fingers and laugh, but if it isn't what you expected, it probably wouldn't be what WE want, either.

Good luck!

This is the stuff and a bit more info:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...ic-Insulation-SM600L?N=4607+3292659035&rt=rud

Not claiming this as gospel by any means but Hein made one clip demonstrating the acoustic properties:

 

[FarOutRide]

We installed Thinsulate a few month ago. We've been using the van in the harsh Canadian winter (down to -25C). We're very happy with the Thinsulate performance. As the original poster mentioned, it is VERY easy to work with, no mess. It will conform to weird and non-flat surfaces.

I'm sure spray foam is more effective (speaking solely in R values), but the overall good performance of Thinsulate make it a winner (acoustic, thermal, easy to work with, easy to remove).

Here is how we installed it:
http://faroutride.com/thinsulate-installation

 

[Brian_and_Jesse]

Re: the dangers of outgassing from different types of insulation, glueboard, and plywood etc. This is depressing!  Still, it's easy enough to forcibly outgas most of the toxins to relatively safe levels by cranking up the heat in your rig for four or five hours, and then returning and ventilating thoroughly for a few hours.  Do this for three days in a row and you'll have outgassed circa 75% of the lethal substances.

http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/toxic-traps-when-these-7-types-plastic-are-dangerous

Love and All Good Things,

Jesse.