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a most excellent NEW screen material from Menards

post #1 of 80
8/25/11 at 9:14am
Thread Starter 
Just wanted to point out a NEW screen option for those folks fortunate enough to be within driving distance of Menards.

Menard's is carrying a new 1/4" hardboard laminated/coated on both sides with white melamine. screen size is 49" x 97".

The coating is very uniform and comparible to sintra. (it is however 2x the weight of sintra...but 4x less weight the 1/2" MDF)

It is in my opinion a superior option to both the wilsonart laminate and also thrifty white... as it is a more solid and self supporting option then both. I also find the coating to be thicker and more durable than thrifty white.

oh... and the cost is mighty nice indeed... at approximately $25 for a sheet.

i'll post a part number after my next visit.
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post #2 of 80
8/25/11 at 10:38am
Is this the board you are speaking of?
http://www.menards.com/main/building...288-c-5701.htm

Bill
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post #3 of 80
8/25/11 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pb_maxxx View Post

Just wanted to point out a NEW screen option for those folks fortunate enough to be within driving distance of Menards.

Menard's is carrying a new 1/4" hardboard laminated/coated on both sides with white melamine. screen size is 49" x 97".

The coating is very uniform and comparible to sintra. (it is however 2x the weight of sintra...but 4x less weight the 1/2" MDF)

It is in my opinion a superior option to both the wilsonart laminate and also thrifty white... as it is a more solid and self supporting option then both. I also find the coating to be thicker and more durable than thrifty white.

oh... and the cost is mighty nice indeed... at approximately $25 for a sheet.

i'll post a part number after my next visit.

But will it perform better than Wilsonart laminate?

Time for a shootout.
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post #4 of 80
8/25/11 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blasst View Post

But will it perform better than Wilsonart laminate?

Time for a shootout.

I'm pretty darn sure PB is mentioning it as a "To be Painted Upon" material. Frankly, no "White" is either a better performing surface than a advanced Painted surface, no can it ever remotely be considered as appropriate but for very limited viewing parameters.

I now state, and maintain strongly that WA-DW is not, nor ever has been anything but a "seemingly" convenient white surface that has always held some pretty "inconvenient" considerations. Yes...it's a good surface for totally dark rooms and High contrast PJ shooting onto it under those conditions. But basically...that's it.

Also, it's brittle.....and it's surface does not hold up well under any cleaning that is any way aggressive out of necessity.

It requires a Frame that must be meticulously built, and that usually winds up costing almost as much as the WA-DW itself. That also tends to make it heavier than is necessary.

Many stalwart CRT owners, those who use WA-DW as a viable alternative to a Stewart ST120, do swear by it....justifiably so...however you won't find many such folks viewing anything except under ideal conditions. CRT owners treasure their Black levels, and will not abide having them wash out.

Turn out that LIGHT!

Close that Door, PLEASE!!!

Back to the question at hand...if the new material is not glossy enough to hot spot, and a screen size is desired at/under 100" diagonal, the new material just might make using "as is" WA-DW into a wholly diminutive "has been" idea.

But unless it (...the Menards material...) can be special ordered in much larger sizes, and if Sintra cannot be found and acquired, then yessir, WA-DW can be an excellent choice.


If.....you paint something worthy on it.

Blasst, be assured I'm not even pickin' at your post...it's just that with my years of Screen Making experience under my belt, I simply cannot even consider using anything that presents more issues, potential or actual, than the performance and ease of application it offers.

Makes no sense to me at all.

I realize and understand the gist and intent behind your post, and it's benign intentions, it's just I saw an opportunity to "sez it like it outta be said..." that's all. That's me.
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post #5 of 80
8/26/11 at 3:27pm
Before blowing it off, consider that it might be a very good, inexpensive substrate for spraying. I'm thinking of folks who either can't buy your recommended sign-making substrates in their hometowns or can only get them at outrageous prices.
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post #6 of 80
8/26/11 at 5:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank View Post
Before blowing it off, consider that it might be a very good, inexpensive substrate for spraying. I'm thinking of folks who either can't buy your recommended sign-making substrates in their hometowns or can only get them at outrageous prices.

?

Unless you are refering specifically to WA-DW, I'm ot sure where you got the impression I'm not supporting the promise the new Menards material represents. The only seemingly negative comments I made were regarding WA-DW's fragility, it's need to be effectively mounted and it's failings regarding any degree of ambient light tolerance. These items all gell together, especially considering that the majority of WA-DW advocates buy the stiff as a "hang & Shoot" material.

But I did state that any of the aforementioned materials can serve as viable substrates for painting.

And...only Sintra and WA-DW come in larger sizes than 4' x 8'

So........if one cannot access Sintra, WA-DW may well be the only remaining choice left besides over-sized BOC.
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post #7 of 80
8/28/11 at 5:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blasst View Post

But will it perform better than Wilsonart laminate?

Time for a shootout.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MississippiMan View Post

I'm pretty darn sure PB is mentioning it as a "To be Painted Upon" material. Frankly, no "White" is either a better performing surface than a advanced Painted surface, no can it ever remotely be considered as appropriate but for very limited viewing parameters.

I now state, and maintain strongly that WA-DW is not, nor ever has been anything but a "seemingly" convenient white surface that has always held some pretty "inconvenient" considerations. Yes...it's a good surface for totally dark rooms and High contrast PJ shooting onto it under those conditions. But basically...that's it.

Also, it's brittle.....and it's surface does not hold up well under any cleaning that is any way aggressive out of necessity.

It requires a Frame that must be meticulously built, and that usually winds up costing almost as much as the WA-DW itself. That also tends to make it heavier than is necessary.

Many stalwart CRT owners, those who use WA-DW as a viable alternative to a Stewart ST120, do swear by it....justifiably so...however you won't find many such folks viewing anything except under ideal conditions. CRT owners treasure their Black levels, and will not abide having them wash out.

Turn out that LIGHT!

Close that Door, PLEASE!!!

Back to the question at hand...if the new material is not glossy enough to hot spot, and a screen size is desired at/under 100" diagonal, the new material just might make using "as is" WA-DW into a wholly diminutive "has been" idea.

But unless it (...the Menards material...) can be special ordered in much larger sizes, and if Sintra cannot be found and acquired, then yessir, WA-DW can be an excellent choice.


If.....you paint something worthy on it.

Blasst, be assured I'm not even pickin' at your post...it's just that with my years of Screen Making experience under my belt, I simply cannot even consider using anything that presents more issues, potential or actual, than the performance and ease of application it offers.

Makes no sense to me at all.

I realize and understand the gist and intent behind your post, and it's benign intentions, it's just I saw an opportunity to "sez it like it outta be said..." that's all. That's me.


MM,

And you did a fine job while the opportunity showed itself.

I appreciate the feedback.

I've been shooting on a WA-DW 116" 16:9 with masking, with no paint job, and of course I can make my room almost pitch black if needed. I played around with a couple of mixtures a few years ago and never got the results I wanted.

MM, if you ever get out to So.Cal then you have an invite to paint a screen for me.

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post #8 of 80
8/28/11 at 6:05pm
Well, that 2.35:1'er looks really great. Getting some ambient light performance out of it would seem to be the only thing it might need. That's a fact.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blasst View Post

MM,

And you did a fine job while the opportunity showed itself.

I appreciate the feedback.

MM, if you ever get out to So.Cal then you have an invite to paint a screen for me.

That might come back to haunt you well before Halloween gets here.

I have a upcoming jaunt into Beverly Hills where I'm painting two big Tab Tensioned Retractables,(122" & 135") one for a Theater and another for a humongous Mstr Bedroom. This is a 2yr old project....seems like 4 yrs though.

While in So.Cal I'll be stopping by to see CMRA down in San Diego. ALWAYS do. After all, it was the Camera Man who first goaded and encouraged me to take the DIY Screen Making art to higher levels. Well...also because he always stocks up on good Beer when I say I'm headed down that way. Love that Anchor Steam!

If indeed your location lies anywhere between LA and SAN-D, I'll call that bluff.
I'll bring my Mighty Wagster....you supply the BBQ & Beer....and the paint, and I'll knock one out for you in just under 4 hours.

You gotta clean up the mess though......
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post #9 of 80
8/29/11 at 8:43am
Thread Starter 
currently on sale at menards for $18.99
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post #10 of 80
8/29/11 at 8:56am
Menards is only up north. I don't see the stuff listed on Home Depot or Lowe's sites.
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post #11 of 80
8/29/11 at 11:32am
"juncture", NOT "conjecture"

Sorry, I couldn't resist
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post #12 of 80
8/29/11 at 11:36am
Well Hank, if you go back to the first sentence in PBs starting post, you'll make note that the product in question is a Menards exclusive.

Leastwise at this juncture. A search shows it's Mfg, "Dakota Panel" to be a South Dakota company. Limited distribution to one specific Company is often the case.

Hey! Kinda does make it somewhat easier to consider "blowin' it off"....eh?
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post #13 of 80
8/29/11 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank View Post

"juncture", NOT "conjecture"

Sorry, I couldn't resist

What you say?

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post #14 of 80
9/3/11 at 10:50pm
MississippiMan. With this new material sent from the gods; Spray and pray or prime with a mime?
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post #15 of 80
9/4/11 at 3:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neonsky View Post

MississippiMan. With this new material sent from the gods; Spray and pray or prime with a mime?


According to the mfg whom I spoke with at length last week, it has a Matte surface w/no gloss. Being melamine like Thifty White Hardboard, it to does not necessarily need priming, however using a primer designed to "Grip" onto smooth surfaces can only result in a more durable, scratch resistant finish.

It's simply another version of TWH available at another location, one who did not previously off a similar product. With one exception. Being Matte white, it may well serve as a "Hang & shoot" item like Doable....and like Doable, be limited in Distribution.
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post #16 of 80
9/4/11 at 8:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MississippiMan View Post


According to the mfg whom I spoke with at length last week, it has a Matte surface w/no gloss. Being melamine like Thifty White Hardboard, it to does not necessarily need priming, however using a primer designed to "Grip" onto smooth surfaces can only result in a more durable, scratch resistant finish.

It's simply another version of TWH available at another location, one who did not previously off a similar product. With one exception. Being Matte white, it may well serve as a "Hang & shoot" item like Doable....and like Doable, be limited in Distribution.

It definitely looks good being "hung and shot" , but I wanna be blown away. To the likes of people with their BDs and their Stewarts.
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post #17 of 80
9/4/11 at 9:29am
Thread Starter 
There are some pluses over thrifty white...
Being 1/4" hardboard, it is a more rigid self supporting substrate.
It is laminated on BOTH sides.
It has a surface perfectly identical to sintra... Which means it needs no surface prep for paint and is also identical sintra in the hang n shoot department.
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post #18 of 80
9/5/11 at 8:31am
This seems to come at about the perfect time! I'm looking to set up a screen for my PJ in my basement. It's an Infocus sp5700 that is probably not going to last long but I hope it'll get me through the winter.

This material will be almost perfect since I can only mount my PJ 15' away because of the basement setup, I can only get a 96" picture out of it. I can likely get the room blacked out but wouldn't mind just a hint of ambient light. Would you recommend painting? If so what paint? A buddy at work has a wagner spray gun that I could likely borrow to get the job done. Thanks in advance!
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post #19 of 80
9/6/11 at 4:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wed View Post

This seems to come at about the perfect time! I'm looking to set up a screen for my PJ in my basement. It's an Infocus sp5700 that is probably not going to last long but I hope it'll get me through the winter.

This material will be almost perfect since I can only mount my PJ 15' away because of the basement setup, I can only get a 96" picture out of it. I can likely get the room blacked out but wouldn't mind just a hint of ambient light. Would you recommend painting? If so what paint? A buddy at work has a wagner spray gun that I could likely borrow to get the job done. Thanks in advance!

Give it a squirt of RS-MaxxMudd. That will give you the "bump" you need, both in image quality and low level ambient light viewing.
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post #20 of 80
9/6/11 at 6:11pm
Thanks MM!

Got mine hung tonight and it looks pretty damn good in complete dark, for just a hang and shoot. I'm on the fence if I want to paint it or not, I think I'll really like the paint on a Sunday afternoon watching football.
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post #21 of 80
9/30/11 at 1:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MississippiMan View Post

Well, that 2.35:1'er looks really great. Getting some ambient light performance out of it would seem to be the only thing it might need. That's a fact.



That might come back to haunt you well before Halloween gets here.

I have a upcoming jaunt into Beverly Hills where I'm painting two big Tab Tensioned Retractables,(122" & 135") one for a Theater and another for a humongous Mstr Bedroom. This is a 2yr old project....seems like 4 yrs though.

While in So.Cal I'll be stopping by to see CMRA down in San Diego. ALWAYS do. After all, it was the Camera Man who first goaded and encouraged me to take the DIY Screen Making art to higher levels. Well...also because he always stocks up on good Beer when I say I'm headed down that way. Love that Anchor Steam!

If indeed your location lies anywhere between LA and SAN-D, I'll call that bluff.
I'll bring my Mighty Wagster....you supply the BBQ & Beer....and the paint, and I'll knock one out for you in just under 4 hours.

You gotta clean up the mess though......

PM Sent
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post #22 of 80
10/3/11 at 9:32am
Man, wished I had seen this thread before this weekend. I made an approx. 106" screen out of BOC, only to find out that my projector could only throw about a 100" image from the furthest point back I could ceiling mount it (Mitsubishi HC1500, from approx. 11 feet). As a result, I was researching alternatives, and saw all this mention of various other options (Sintra, Duro Therm, Doable, etc.) since, I'm only neeeding an 100" screen, I thought I'd check to see what 4x8 sheets might be available locally.

According to the website, Menard's about 40 minutes away had the Duro Therm panel. Well, when I got to the store, I saw the melamine board, but had no idea it could be used. At the store, they told me they did not have the Duro Therm in stock, but could order it for me. They called me later that day to inform me, they had to order a minimum of 5, so they had to cancel my order,

Had I saw this thread, I could have just purchased the melamine panel while I was out there. Oh well, I guess I'll have to make another 40 minute trip out and back sometime soon.

While I'm here, should I paint it? I can get the room pretty much black, but often like to use the projector to watch sports with some ambient light. Use is about 60% movies; 40% sports. Thanks.
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post #23 of 80
10/3/11 at 2:57pm
Thread Starter 
i'd paint it with rs-maxxmudd ll v2.1. it's a mostly controlled viewing screen mix but can handle a fair amount of ambient light for sports viewing.
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post #24 of 80
10/4/11 at 5:43am
Thanks, Pb_Maxxx. It will probably be a few weeks, but I'll report back the results.
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post #25 of 80
10/7/11 at 11:56am
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to transport this? I'm hesitant to throw it in the back of a truck for an 80 mile trip, due to the fear of scratching the surface. Is the surface durable enough to withstand a trip like this?
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post #26 of 80
10/7/11 at 12:51pm
did anyone do a shootout vs the WA_DW?

i am looking to replace my 2yr 90" WA-DW screen.

i am hearing some very new choices.

what is "sintra"?

is WA-DW still the best screen material for the budget?
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post #27 of 80
10/7/11 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 
smokarz;

there really isn't much need for a shootout. WA-DW, sintra, and this 1/4" melamine hardboard from menards all perform on par with each other... in that they act like a white screen should.

all three make decent 'put up and shoot' unity gain (approx 1.0) white screens.

dollar for dollar they are as follows
1) TWH - $12 (48x96)
2) Menards 1/4 in melamine - $24 (49x97)
3) Sintra 3mm - approx $35 (48x96) --> add $10-15 more for 6mm
4) WA-DW - approx $35+ (48x96)

sintra and WA-DW are the only options for 100"+ diagonal screens.
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post #28 of 80
10/7/11 at 2:22pm
Thread Starter 
got a flatbed pickup truck or trailer... then no problem... both side are coated the same... just need to protect one of the sides... so get yourself a dropcloth or canvas to place it one.
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post #29 of 80
10/7/11 at 2:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pb_maxxx View Post

smokarz;

there really isn't much need for a shootout. WA-DW, sintra, and this 1/4" melamine hardboard from menards all perform on par with each other... in that they act like a white screen should.

all three make decent 'put up and shoot' unity gain (approx 1.0) white screens.

dollar for dollar they are as follows
1) TWH - $12 (48x96)
2) Menards 1/4 in melamine - $24 (49x97)
3) Sintra 3mm - approx $35 (48x96) --> add $10-15 more for 6mm
4) WA-DW - approx $35+ (48x96)

sintra and WA-DW are the only options for 100"+ diagonal screens.

the beauty of 6mm sintra and the menards hardboard is that neither require a frame to be built.
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post #30 of 80
10/7/11 at 5:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pb_maxxx View Post


the beauty of 6mm sintra and the menards hardboard is that neither require a frame to be built.

Would you suggest putting a black velvet or black felt around the outside of the board? Or is it best to leave as is?
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