Most Fiberglass Pipe Insulation has a plain uncoated paper jacket. Because there are many hands coming in contact with these 3 ft pieces, the downside to such a jacket is a higher risk of popping a hole into it with a finger or work tool or spilling a dark liquid on it that absorbs into the paper.
The first thing that stands out on the Owens Corning SSL II ASJ Max is the slick and strong jacket and it’s this jacket that sets Owens Corning apart from the pack when it comes to Fiberglass Pipe Insulation. When other brands get wet from a dark liquid they have spots that appear and don’t go away; when the ASJ Max gets wet simply wipe down the jacket and it appears as if it never got wet.
But resistance to dark water spots and other stains isn’t the main reason contractors prefer Owens Corning: it’s the double adhesive, the only product out there with such. The stick is not only on the Lap with the strippable film; it’s also on the portion of the pipe that mates with the lap.
The benefit of “adhesive on adhesive” is that after the lap is pulled and squeegeed together it’s not coming apart.
