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Flexible Special Texture Series · MBTHM
Shou-Sugi-Ban Charred Wood Panel
Shou sugi ban, the charred cedar finish, at 930 × 2800. The cobbled char, the cracks, the dead matte black — without the annual oiling that real burnt timber needs.
The surface is the deep, alligator char you get when cedar is burnt and then brushed back: flat black plates with a network of cracks between them, and a slight sheen on the high points where the brush passed. Nothing in the pattern is regular, which is why it does not read as a print.
Real yakisugi is a maintenance commitment. It goes grey, it wants oiling every year or two, and it holds water in the cracks if the wall is not detailed properly. This sheet is the finished look, indoors or out, with a rinse-down and no oil.
Char is not a colour
A flat black panel looks like painted MDF. What makes this read as charred timber is the crack network: the way the plates sit slightly proud of the cracks, and the way the light catches the top edge of each plate but not the bottom.
A dark room, on purpose
The photograph is a washroom with black charred walls, five small sconces and polished stone. The panel does what black does well here: it makes the sconces the only thing in the room, and the crack texture keeps the wall from reading as a flat black void.
Installed, shou-sugi-ban
Good for
- Restaurant, bar and washroom interiors where a black wall is the scheme
- Exterior facades, on a drained and ventilated cavity
- Fireplace surrounds and chimney breasts, on a non-combustible substrate
- Retail displays and plinths where a matte black is wanted
Not for
- Anywhere a jet-black uniform surface is expected: this has visible variation
- Walls beside a light switch that will be fingered daily
- Internal corners without a trim, since the char reads as a break
Wrapping it
At 4 mm it folds to a 200 mm radius, and the char survives the bend without cracking off. That is unusual for a textured black surface, and it means a column can be wrapped in one piece.
Bent by hand, no heat
Specification
Everything below applies to the Shou-Sugi-Ban as supplied. Samples and datasheets come with the first quote.
| Sheet size | 930 × 2800 mm |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 4 mm ± 0.5 mm |
| Weight | 6 kg/m² ± 0.5 |
| Substrate | Mineral powder, sand and fibreglass, pressed in a steel mould |
| Fire | EN 13501-1 A2-s1,d0, on a non-combustible substrate |
| Fixing | Polymer adhesive, or mechanical fixings on a ventilated frame |
| MOQ | Stocked colours ship from stock, no minimum |
| Lead time | 3–5 days for stock, 20–25 days for production |
Fitting it
Four steps, and the third one is the one that goes wrong.
Questions we get asked
Does the char rub off?
No. The surface is sealed at the factory, so a white cloth wiped across it stays white. Unsealed real yakisugi does mark; this does not.
Can it be used outside?
Yes, on a ventilated facade with a drained cavity. The colour is stable and it does not need the annual oil that timber cladding needs.
Is it hot to the touch in sun?
Warmer than a light colour, as any black surface is. On a facade it is the surface temperature that rises, not the wall behind it, because the panel is thermally thin.
How black is it?
Matte black with a very slight blue-grey cast in daylight. Under warm interior light it goes almost brown at the edges of the plates.
What is the largest unbroken piece?
930 × 2800. The width is set by the mould, so a wide wall is a series of 930 mm panels with tight joints, which suits the look.
Sample of Shou-Sugi-Ban
A4 offcut, posted from Ningbo, free. Ask for the colour card too — it has all seventeen textures in the series.
Same series