Operable Partition Finishes
Fabric, vinyl, high pressure laminate, markerboard, carpet, wood veneer and custom surfaces — every panel face we supply, with the names and product codes to write into your specification.
Choosing a panel finish
The finish is applied to the panel face, so it does not change how the wall performs acoustically or structurally — an ALPHA panel carries the same field-tested NIC 42 whether it is finished in fabric, vinyl or laminate. What the finish decides is how the wall wears, how it cleans, and whether it reads as a piece of the room or as equipment in it.
Every collection below is a standard Advanced Equipment offering. Custom finishes are routine work for us — if the specification calls for something outside these collections, send it to us and we will quote it.
Fabric
Hytex Stratus Classic Wovens — 51% polyester, 49% olefin, acrylic latex backing. The most specified panel face on large operable walls, and the finish used at the Seattle Convention Center Addition.
29 standard colors · 54 in x 3 ft repeat · random match · Fabric finish specification (PDF)
Vinyl
AEC standard vinyl in three collections. Meets CCC-W-408D Type II, WA-101 Type II and ASTM F-793 Category V — the wall coverings specified where cleanability and abrasion resistance matter most.
Thread
Moonscape
Eco
17 standard colors · 52-55 in roll width · Vinyl finish specification (PDF)
High Pressure Laminate
The Wilsonart design library, Advanced Equipment Standard Collection. Hard-wearing, wipe-clean, and the usual choice for schools and any wall that takes daily contact.
34 standard colors · Wilsonart high pressure laminate · Laminate design library (PDF)
Markerboard
Writanium porcelain-on-steel by Platinum Visual Solutions, applied as a full-height panel face. The wall becomes a writing surface, which is why it is specified so often in classrooms and training rooms.
Carpet
Hytex Rib wallcovering for vertical surfaces and partitions. A tackable, sound-absorbing face where panels double as display surfaces.
Wood veneer, mirror and custom finishes
Where the wall has to disappear into the architecture, the panel face stops being a catalog choice.
Advanced Equipment builds its own panels, so a custom face is a manufacturing decision rather than an exception. Installations in the field include wood clad with mirrors at Daniel's Broiler in Bellevue, custom wood veneer at Temple Israel and the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington, vertical grain wood veneer on the pocket doors at Tillamook Bay Community College, and a custom printed graphic spanning the full panel run at Kimball Elementary School.
Custom powder coat trim, plastic laminate, perforated acoustic faces to NRC 0.65, and combinations across a single wall are all standard work. Bring us the finish schedule and we will match it.
Writing the finish into a specification
Name the collection and the product code, not the color word on its own — "Wilsonart North Sea D90-60" is unambiguous where "blue laminate" is not. If the wall combines faces, state which finish applies to which elevation, and call out pass doors and pocket doors separately: they are finished to match the panels exactly, but only if the schedule says so.
Samples of any finish on this page are available on request, and DWspec will generate a project-specific specification that includes your finish selections.
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Our team of experts is here to help you design the perfect operable partition solution.