Wanna earn 20 dollars? Identify this mystery material

Off Topic
#1

Anyone that can definitively identify this synthetic fabric like material, I’ll shoot you 20 bucks. No joke.

Magnification shows a synthetic mesh like grid structure. This structure is prominent on one side of the material, you can almost feel the slight coarseness/texture. The other side of the material is completely smooth, shinier, there is a film or a coating of some sort on it.

So essentially you have a micro grid with a ‘shiny thin wall’ or coating adhered to it. Overall, it feels like a super thin food saver bag. (But it is not food saver material)

It’s very malleable, its ultra thin, it is able to crease. Does not tear easily (as evidenced by the fraying at the ends, it’s a sturdy material.) It does become slightly brittle if you nip it with a flame. (It is also NOT fireproof, it does not melt but it does disappear in a flame. It will not heat seal to itself either.

This is a synthetic material:

Does not appear to be fiberglass mat, I don’t believe it is swiss shield or RF shielding fabric. My thoughts were maybe some sort of waterproofing or anti-static fabric - but I honestly don’t know.

So, there it is - if there are any fabric nerds out there who know what this is - you earned yourself an Andrew Jackson.

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#2

Isn’t it just polyester?

#3

Looks like it anyway

#4

I don’t think it is but I’m only familiar with polyester on like… clothes and such.

This material is more akin to a plastic feel than a clothing or cloth feel. There is no stretch to it at all.

If there is some sort of micro mesh polyester that has those qualities it could be.

#5

It looks like the material used on those little things you can put under rugs to keep them from sticking. Does it slide across hardwood/tile?

Edit: Sliding, not sticking.

#6

If so, polyester is correct

#7

You mean this stuff? (this is a cabinet liner but I use it for gripping stuff… Like to open jars and whatnot or keep work pieces from slipping around.)

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If so, this is just some sort of rubber.

#8

It’s polyester, but coated with a type of rubber. At least that’s what I have.

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#9

Some type of silicon type coating.

#10

Here are some shots of it. See how one side is shinier than the other. The less shiny side is the grid side.

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#11

Hmmmm. That’s a little different than what I have… If it’s sticky to surfaces, it may not be exactly what myself and @Outlaweditzz said, but it’s similar. And if it is polyester, they had it first hahaha. But I’m starting to think that isn’t quite correct.

#12

It looks familiar, but I can’t put a finger on where I’ve seen it…

#13

It almost looks like a small tarp in a way. I’ve had tarps fray like that on the edges… and some have the same look…

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#14

Yeah, that’s what i was thinking too I just haven’t found anything quite right.

I feel like it’s some sort of waterproofing or anti-static type of material. I thought it
might be a coated fiberglass mat, but the closer I looked at that stuff it is more of a tight weave rather than a micro grid of squares.

Then I thought it might be a fiber roofing mesh …but i haven’t found any of that with a grid as tiny.

@Outlaweditzz

I’m looking at some polyester silk screen printing mesh…trying to get as good of a clear image as I can.

But, as of right now, you may be leaning towards being 20 bucks richer. I don’t wanna get too excited just yet haha… (I been trying to hunt down this mystery for 2 weeks.)

#15

I’m only saying so because most tags I’ve seen on clothing and Beds have the same type of material and pattern to them. They’re made of polyester just not as shimmering as the piece you have there so it could be coated polyester as @SPARGELKOHL said.

Where did you find this material?

#16

I purchased it from a stencil vendor.

They do a laser cut pattern into the material so it is re-usable, works with paint and whatnot. However, it is very expensive (this chunk you’ve seen in the pictures was 35 bucks…) and I actually own a small laser… So I’m just trying to sort out what it is because ultimately it’d be a great material to attempt a new project.

Rather than just a grayscale high definition stencil, I want try cutting 4 CYMK offsets of the same digital photo into the material. The idea being you could just use each stencil with Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black paints- and the end result would be a near identical copy of the digital photo. Sort of like being a human printer head… lol

The company will not tell me what the material is other than ‘synthetic fabric like material’.

So my hunt began.

The more I look into this polyester screen printing material… it really seems like it’s on the right track. It’s just a matter of figuring out which type. There seems to be like 50 different models/micron sizes and unfortunately none of the photos i have found yet show enough detail.

But it looks very close…
image

I’ll keep badgering the path - if it ends up being the right stuff I’ll hit ya up.

#17

Alright. I think it’s called Mylar Polyester if I’m right. I’m not sure though

#18

The page I grabbed that screenshot from had a free sample request - so I went ahead and hit them up.

We shall see!

#19

Old timey condom material from the "holey moley "condom company… They bankrupt now.

#20

Ouch… This material as a condom couldn’t have felt good for anyone involved lol.

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