Just finished a white Melamine DIY screen, LOTS of screen caps! - Page 3

OK...when you determine what it is your going to by, then a quick answer can be provided. Until then, be advised that the less contrast your PJ choice can produce, combined with the amount of lumen output it provides will be the deciding factor between a White to Gray screen selection.

I have been to bunnings and looked at the Melamine, I was advised against painting it, it was suggested that the clear will peel off. An alternative would be to sandpaper the shine off with 1200 grit, this I tried on a corner piece and it worked in taking the shine off. It seemed to dull the appearance slightly though.

These guys stock 2400x1200 sheets in 9mm and 12mm, should be a bit lighter to lift around. Available in Matt white or semi-gloss. The large sheets at Bunnings were only Semi-gloss (need sanding).

http://www.dmkforestproducts.com.au/speciality_products.html


From reading the review here: http://www.projectorcentral.com/paint_perfect_screen_$100.htm?page=Finding-the-Perfect-Paint , it seems Matte finish is to dull, I think the perfect solution will be to lightly sand back a semi-gloss Melamine board, while testing periodicaly until the right balance is formed. The trick will be to uniformly apply the sanding across the entire area.
Edited by j2037 - 7/9/12 at 2:35am

Your reading too many conflicting things and applying them to the wrong subjects.

1. A Matte Finish on a Mfg Surface is ideal as it requires no sanding for painting, or just might suffice as a workable surface all by itself.

2. Just about a zillion DIY'ers have painted directly on the semi-gloss melamine sheets to good results, and although it's true that such coatings can scratch easily if one bothers to try, peeling has not be an issue if the paint applied was done in proper "Duster Coat" fashion.

3. Sanding Melamine lightly cannot hurt, but the singular most advantage one can give oneself is to prime the surface using a special Primer like Glidden's "Gripper", a Primer designed for use on smooth, slick surfaces.

4 Don't fool yourself. 12mm is 1/2" and any Hardboard w/Melamine coating at that thickness is gonna be pretty heavy. 6mm is ideal.

I cannot find a Matte acrylic clear, only Matte oil based, what would be the result in applying this to the semi-gloss melamine?

I'm sorry,

I was referring to finding a Matte White melamine. The Article was specifically referring to a Matte Finish in the Sherwin William paints being too dull, not any reference to a Clear medium. In any case, it's been well proven that applying a Clear Coat all too often either muddies up the image, or creates undue reflectiveness.

I have had considerable experience with such and I cannot recommend that course. I can only advise you to apply a suitable Paint on such a surface, with or without first Priming as mentioned above. That being the case, if you can find the SW-Pro-Classic Satin, you can duplicate the Projector Central effort. If not, re-post and alternative paint solutions can be provided. Considering your use of Metric figures, your probably residing in Canada. That would leave us with dealing with whatever local suppliers you have close (...where is that, BTW? ) or you ordering something via the Web.

Yeh I need a duplicate for the Sherwin-Williams ProClassic Interior Acrylic Latex, http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/catalog/proclassic_interior_acrylic_latex/?WT.mc_id=Old%20DIY%20Products%20Redirect


I have looked here in Australia, online, bunnings and a few paint shops, no luck. What substitutes do you think are available in OZ?

Dulux Light & Space "Ultimate White" in Flat (Matte) I cannot vouch for the results in a Satin. If sprayed in Duster Coat fashion, I'm pretty sure it would deliver outstanding results. Rolled, and it's satin sheen would become much more predominant. Choosing a Matte would be a much more assure route to travel.

It's a thick, almost gummy paint, so expect to have to thin it about 20% water to volume.

That Dulux range is not available in Australia. We have the wash and wear range.

http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/product/dulux-interior-products/walls/product-detail?product=10208
http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/product/dulux-interior-products/walls/product-detail?product=2250
http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/product/dulux-interior-products/walls/product-detail?product=2252


I noticed they also have a Matt Clear Acrylic, they did not have this at Bunnings, but I could probably get it from somewhere else. Back to the original idea of spraying clear over Melamine Semi-Gloss?

http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/product/dulux-interior-products/specialist/product-detail?product=2196
Edited by j2037 - 7/12/12 at 6:22pm

You can try that, but it's fraught with uncertainty. Rather, try mixing 25% Clear matte with the brightest Matte White you can find, and apply it over a a layer of Semi-Gloss.

Thanks so far for your help MMan,

Update.

I built a cupboard on wheels with a 2140 x 1200 16mm Melamine backing for the screen.

I decided on the Benq W7000, it will be placed in a tall cupboard, 1.55m high and 4.4m from the screen (94 inch).

The Benq will arrive in 2 weeks.

I used 25mm velcro around the edge to hide the screw holes and provide a masking, whilst allowing the opportunity to place 2:35:1 masking (3mm mdf or melamine covered in 550gsm black wool), velcro on the back of the 3mm mdf, 2 x 1070mm strips.



What advice should I get from here, wait and see what the Benq looks like and try and calibrate it to avoid hot spotting, or go with a matte clear.

I read on the last page that over the course of a year or two, yellowing could be an issue.

Spotlight sell a clear matte water-based acrylic - it only comes in small pots, 500ml if I remember correctly, and specifically says on the blurb that it won't yellow. If you sign up to their free VIP club then they'll send you a discount voucher, which I used on one of their 30%-off-everything days, and ended up with a few pots for almost nothing

I sanded a corner of the melamine, I think this is the best option. From normal light you cannot tell the difference, but when there is direct bright light the reflection has been totally cut out. Tomorrow I will buy some rough and fine sandpaper and finish it off. Better than painting in my opinion, paint is likely to cause future problems, peeling, cracking, fading etc. It needs like 120-180 grit, hard stuff to sand, then gradually finer in sandpaper, I think till 1200 grit should do it.

The test will be when I fire up the PJ, I will let you know the outcome, fingers crossed.


Additionally, if the sanding doesn't go to plan, at least it is prep'd for painting
Edited by j2037 - 9/30/12 at 11:02pm

Do NOT USE COARSE SANDPAPER !!!

Go to Home Depot in the Drywall Tools Dept. And get the Large Sanding Sponge "Fine Grit". ( 8" x 3" x 1"). It is perfect for the job, fitting into The hand so well and distributing the pressure evenly over a wide footprint.

Coarse grit sanding will gouge the Melamine with deep scratches that will be harder to get rid of than you want to deal with. Sand using broad strokes ( vertical) with a very light pressure. All you want to do is remove gloss...not Melamine.

Good luck...and don't get agressive with that sponge.!!!

I hit it with 120 grit, boy is it tough to get off, MMan, there are no big gouges it's all good eh!!!

Tried 80 grit, still very tough to get off, this is going to take a fair bit of elbow grease, might have to borrow an electric job.

I am feeling it is to much of a big job, to apply a clear is the easy way out definitely....
Edited by j2037 - 10/2/12 at 11:54pm

Ok, so I got it done with 40 grit sandpaper, boy was it a biatch. MMan, there are a few light gouges with the 40 grit, I couldn't go any higher, cause it was difficult enough just to do it with 40 grit, even tried an electric job, but needed to use alot of pressure by hand to get it done.

Anyhow, looks good from 11 feet back, there are some dull area's were the melamine was taken back further than other area's. If it doesn't look good with the PJ, I'll paint it.

I looked at the paint section in town and they have a Dulux Vivid White Flat Acrylic (Wash and Wear), the store person said flat meant matte, on the tin it said 0% reflection. I think this will be the best way to go, it's wash and wear and can be easily cleaned. Now that the melamine has been sanded, it should stick very well. http://www.dulux.com.au/products/dulux-interior-products/walls/product-detail?product=2250


MMan, is there any other tint I should add to the Vivid White Flat?

Do I need to undercoat it?

Ask for Dulux Light and Space Ultimate White in the Matte. As for any specific tint, let's see how well you like your screenafter its painted flat whiteand then we can go from there

I don't believe that this convection that you need to worry about undercoating

I have asked before about the Dulux Light and Space range, but this is only available in the UK. I think the Dulux Vivid White Flat Acrylic should be the same.

Well then, Vivid White it must be.

It does indeed sound like it should do the job nicely.

Cupboard on wheels , you would never know there was a screen on the back of it, lol.

Ok, couple of screen shots for you, MMan tell me if you think those dull patches will show up on the screen when the projector is turned on, guess I'll find out anyhow. We'll see if it will need to be painted. On another thread someone was saying they could not tell the difference between grey and a white screen, so maybe the dull (greyish) patches won't make a difference. I could lightly duster coat over the screen with a flat or matte white.

2:35:1 (MDF is not yet covered with 400 GSM Black Theatre Wool)


4 pieces of 6mm MDF with velcro on the back make up the 2:35:1 masking.


25mm Velcro (furry side of the velcro) border.

Edited by j2037 - 10/5/12 at 2:24am

Ended up painting it with some ceiling paint (flat white) that was laying around, looks really good, no hot spots.

But I have never tried other paints so I don't know how it would compare. I would really like to get some of that Sherwin-Williams paint, bummed out they don't have it here in OZ.

I used the Sherman Williams paint and it looked very good with my old Mits HC3000 projector. However, I just added an Epson 3010 this past week and it's actually too bright. Whites are too hot. I'm going to paint over with a flat white.

I have since painted the melamine with Black Widow, with very good results.

Anyone have an opinion on this tactic vs the MaxxMudd painting that other threads are discussing? Or would you use MaxxMudd on these laminate pieces?
Edited by pdoherty972 - 1/9/13 at 5:42pm

Haven't a clue as to what tos tactic is.

That's the ipad autocorrect way of saying "this"

OK...I'm victimized by that sort of thing myself.

RS-MaxxMudd is a positive gain, contrast enhancing light silvery gray screen application. There is no Laminate or Melamine material that can be effectively compared to it.

The latter applications have been / are popular primarily because they do not involve painting.