I currently have a partially-painted room going dedicated theater room. It has one dark blue wall painted with a Lowe's flat dark blue. With light on it from the lamp, it really seems to "glow." Are there certain paint manufacturers that are producing paint that is noticably MORE flat than other "flat" paint ? I have seen rooms' ceilings presumably painted flat black, and with the projector rolling, the ceiling almost looks white ! Some paint companies are not doing a very good job of dulling or flattening down their paint. Recommendations on paint companies ? Thanks.;)

yes. a flat is not a flat. it really is subjective too. Berh Mickey Mouse Ears Flat Black is the most popular around here. later.

I bought some off-the-shelf flat black Glidden paint at HD. It was easy to apply over the existing ceiling paint with one coat, but still isn't dead flat.

See c2paint.com for their non-relective flat black (flatter than their regular flat). Will likely use this. My one concern is whether they can mix black properly. They have a 'zorro' color.

My local paint store carries a Moore black in a can (no mix) as they tell me you can not tint down regular paint to an absolute black, has to be premix that way.

db

You may try finding a flatenner to mix in with your paint. I know that they make it for automotive paints.

Yes, there are all types of paints available that have different glosses. The gloss of a paint is typically measured on a scale between 1 and 100. 100 is the highest gloss and 1 is the lowest. A flat paint is one that has a gloss less than 5. It is difficult to get these flat paints from a mass retailer like Home Depot or Lowes. Your best bet would be to go to a "paint only" store like ICI Glidden, Sherwin Williams, etc... Tell the manager of the store you want a flat paint with a gloss less than 5. They may have to call someone within their company to get you what you are looking for, however, it is readily available.

Sherwin Williams has a flat paint that I used in my theater ceiling and my "outside sidewalk area" ceiling and it is quite flat. It is called Ulti-Matte and I used "Jet Black" colour. One of the only flat paints that you can clean marks off as well!:)

... The gloss of a paint is typically measured on a scale between 1 and 100...
I just painted the ceiling and front wall today. I got the paint from Benjamin Moore in downtown Austin. They were using this paint particularly for home theaters in some condos under construction. No other BM stores in Austin had it. I don't know the "gloss number". Is it shown on the can anywhere?
I don't have the projector on it yet, so i'm not certain of a glare yet, but seems ok now. It was $22/gal

yes. a flat is not a flat. it really is subjective too. Berh Mickey Mouse Ears Flat Black is the most popular around here. later.

Just remember that the most popular is not always the best (assuming it actually is the most popular). Behr is terrible. Don't buy it.


I would echo what some others have said. Go with a good quality paint, either Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams. You might also want to see if they have scrub-able flat ( I think Sherwin Williams does), as it will be a lot easier to work with after the fact. If you really don't want to spend the money or if a SW or BM are not convenient to you, then go with Glidden at HD. Glidden paints are very spreadable and IIRC, their flat is pretty flat.

Stew,

Which Glidden black do u like?

ty,
WS

Just painted the first ceiling coat today. Used BM Flat Black Latex. Comes premixed to black. Its almost dry and I do not see any gloss when illuminated at an angle with a 1500 watt quarts light. It sprayed nicely and made my relatively low ceiling (7'4") appear higher.

Its only been drying an hour and is uneven cover due to first coat. Primer is visible on wall. Used C2 WBP. Primer is 50% of ultimate wall color.

http://idisk.mac.com/dbbarron1-Public/Theater/flat paint.jpg

http://idisk.mac.com/dbbarron1-Public/Theater/first coat ceiling.jpg

IMO the best way to achieve the maximum flat look is spraying. Nothing I've seen rolled on can touch it. It comes with many disadvantages but that is the reality.

Benjamin Moore Twilight Zone rolled on:
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p146/CarlosMeat/NewTheaterwork025a.jpg


Art

I am in need of paint myself. I was going to use a very very dark red or burgundy. Somebody mentioned that a satin or eggshell paint was better than a "flat" paint. We all need paint that acts as much as a light absorber as possible. No reflections! Not an easy task.

Spraying C2 non-reflective flat today. Will post.

First coat is certainly flat, but went on uneven - I was very light on the spray - conservative. Moore on ceiling is uneven after second coat - will have to roll out a third coat.

Here is the Moore flat black (ceil) and C2 non-reflective (walls).

Both have two coats - ceiling needs a third. Walls are magnificent.

Both seem quite flat - C2 not fully dry so still some reflection in spots.

fyi - room is illuminated by a 1500 watt quartz light.

http://idisk.mac.com/dbbarron1-Public/Theater/walls done.jpg

I would consider Sherwin Williams Cashmere Flat. It is a true flat. If you get a highly scrubbable paint it most likely will have a near matte sheen. In other words not true flat.
Sometimes ultra deep colors show a bit of sheen due to the amount of pigment.
One way we have successfully gotten around this is ordering the color in Sherwin Williams Exterior super paint flat, instead of the Interior ultra deep base called color accents

Thanks very much for this info. I now have some very excellent options.

Thanks very much for this info. I now have some very excellent options.

So what paints are you going to look at first? I was going to go with a dark red/burgundy, but now I am thinking of even going with black myself. Just need to chose the flatest, most non-reflective paint. Not sure I'll be able to spray it on though.

You won't really no how flat it is or should I say how reflective it may or may not be until you light up the projector on your screen.

I have seen paints that look very flat in normal lighting / when the house lights were up that were not as good once the screen was lit up and visa-versa.

No exact science here for sure. Rolled / sprayed / brushed certainly has an effect as well.

Just rolled the third black coat on the ceiling - came out as even as the spray on same, but there is a texture.

You won't really no how flat it is or should I say how reflective it may or may not be until you light up the projector on your screen.

I have seen paints that look very flat in normal lighting / when the house lights were up that were not as good once the screen was lit up and visa-versa.

No exact science here for sure. Rolled / sprayed / brushed certainly has an effect as well.

Fair enough. I mean, with a black or very very dark paint, you're already doing pretty good for reflections. I actually used this weird flannelette material at my old place and it worked pretty good. You could see it light up, but it wasn't exactly 'reflective' to any great extent. The other neat thing about the cheap flannelette material is that it is not flat, but of course has an un-even texture. Of course, it doesn't look too great. I bought it at the same place I got the blackout material I use for my screens. Kinda ghetto screen material a masking, because it is very cheap. Perhaps I'll experiment with some paint and compare it to the flannelette material.

Any more idea's on choices for the flatest most non-reflective paints?