It depends entirely on where the fabric sits in the assembly rather than on how much protection you want. Single sided is for outer protective layers, where the coated face takes the weather and the uncoated face bonds to adhesives or adjacent layers. Double sided is for inner sealing layers, where the fabric must be gas tight on both faces.

Specifying the wrong one causes a definite failure rather than merely reduced performance. Single sided used as an inner seal will not hold gas. Double sided used where bonding is needed will not adhere. If your assembly has both an inner and an outer layer, you need both specifications.

Because it is a different kind of product. The silicone rubber is what limits the temperature, and it is also what provides the sealing, elasticity, pressure retention and electrical insulation that bare glass fabric cannot deliver at any temperature.

If your requirement is heat resistance alone, our high silica cloth works to 1000 degrees continuous and costs less than you might expect. If your requirement involves sealing a gap, absorbing movement or holding pressure, no amount of temperature capability substitutes for what silicone cloth does.

Yes, and the low temperature rating is a genuine engineering property rather than a survival claim. Silicone rubber retains flexibility at temperatures where most elastomers become hard and brittle.

That matters for outdoor expansion joints in cold climates, cryogenic equipment and any seal that cycles between very low and normal temperature. A rubber that stiffens in the cold stops absorbing movement, which is the moment an expansion joint stops doing its job.

Both attack the stability of silicone rubber over time. Sulphur dioxide degrades the polymer, and sustained water vapour exposure affects it similarly. This is a property of silicone rather than a defect in our product, and it applies to silicone coated fabric from any supplier.

The case that most often catches buyers out is flue gas from sulphur bearing fuel, because it usually contains both. If you are specifying a duct liner or expansion joint downstream of a combustion process, check the fuel sulphur content before selecting silicone. Tell us if it is present and we will recommend an alternative.

Up to 10 years in outdoor conditions, based on its resistance to ozone, oxygen, UV radiation and general weathering.

That figure assumes normal outdoor exposure rather than an aggressive chemical atmosphere or continuous mechanical abrasion. A membrane on a building and a conveyor belt in a quarry both count as outdoor use, and they will not last the same length of time. Describe the exposure and we will give you a realistic expectation rather than repeating the headline number.

Yes, and it is widely used for fire blankets, fire curtains and flame retardant covers in welding protection and building safety systems.

One important point: silicone rubber can be formulated in flame retardant grades specifically for this purpose, and that is a different formulation from the standard product. If fire protection is the primary function rather than a secondary benefit, specify it at order stage so the correct grade is produced.

300 kPa working pressure. This is one of the properties that distinguishes a coated composite from a plain woven fabric, since bare glass cloth holds essentially no pressure at all.

Pressure and temperature interact, so tell us both rather than either alone. A material comfortable at 300 kPa at ambient and comfortable at 240 degrees unpressurised may be working harder than you expect when both conditions apply simultaneously.

Yes. The glass fibre support net underneath the rubber is what allows the material to withstand cutting and punching without tearing or losing structure at the cut edge.

If you are sewing rather than bonding, use a high temperature thread that matches the assembly rather than a synthetic one. We produce a matching thread, and a seam stitched with polyester becomes the temperature limit of the whole assembly.

Because this product contains a polymer and the others do not. High silica cloth is inorganic and essentially indifferent to storage. Silicone rubber is not, so temperature, humidity and physical handling all matter.

The instruction most often ignored is the one about folding. A crease pressed into coated fabric under load can leave a permanent line in the silicone, and on a sealing layer that line becomes a leak path. Keep roll goods rolled rather than folding them to fit a smaller carton.

Yes. Samples of standard specifications are normally available, and for a material bought on handling and sealing behaviour as much as on rating we would rather you tested it.

Tell us the application and the coating configuration you think you need when you request one. A single sided sample tells you very little if what you actually need is double sided.

Standard colours and coating configurations carry a lower minimum because the material already exists. A custom colour or a flame retardant formulation needs its own production run, which raises both the minimum and the lead time.

Tell us the specification and your rough volume and we will confirm the exact figure with your quotation.

Payment is normally by T/T, structured as a deposit with the balance settled before shipment. We confirm the exact split with your quotation.

EXW, FOB, CIF and DAP terms are all available, so you can pick whichever fits how your freight is already arranged. If you have a nominated forwarder we will work with them directly.