Beginner's Guide To Simple DIY Painted Screens - Page 2  

White Screen OR Gray Screen?

Without a doubt this is the most common question that is asked by the novice. The answer is actually quite simple and also partially subjective. It is simple once you stop to consider how a projector produces black in an image. It does so by NOT projecting any light onto the screen surface. In an environment where the projector is the only source of light, even a white surface will look black to the viewer. Black is simply the lack of all light, Right!?

For some early models of projectors, the ability to completely block all light for black regions of an images was not possible. At that time the gray screen surface was used to improve the perceived black levels. With successive models of projectors the ability to cut off light has been improved. This is reflected in the ever increasing contrast ratio specifications. So why would you want to employ a gray screen now with a modern projector? The main reason is to help with tolerance of ambient light. Ambient light is any light in the room that is not projected onto the screen to produce an image. That includes other light sources as well as light from the screen reflecting off of the walls and ceiling.

The most effective way to improve the image on a white or gray screen is to reduce or eliminate all other sources of light. This can be achieved through window coverings, appropriate lighting, and the use of darker wall and ceiling colors. The use of front projection equipment is finding it's way out of dedicated private theaters into the home environment. In the past a room was often set aside as a theater room only. This allowed the enthusiast to implement a private theater with appropriate lighting and surface colors. There is a new wave of people, myself included, that do not want a private theater in their home. I want to integrate a large screen into my living room. IMHO, that is what a "Home Theater" is. It is the ability to create the theater experience in a home environment. This often restricts the room darkening techniques that can be employed. This for many is the main reason for selecting a gray screen. Total elimination of ambient light is often not inline with the interior decorating goals of other members of the household.

The use of a gray screen can significantly improve the perceived image quality when there is some ambient light present in the room. This will be demonstrated in the following post. If you are able to control all ambient light sources, and paint all surfaces in the room a suitable dark matte color then white is the right choice.

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White Screen vs Gray Screen Demonstration

Any ambient light in the room will illuminate the dark areas of a projected image. This will reveal the color of the screen. When the white screen is revealed in a dark area of an image, the result is an image looks washed out. There is a perceived loss of contrast. The gray screen surface is also susceptible to this effect, but since it is gray, the perceived loss of contrast is not as severe. Therefore a gray screen is desirable when it is expected there will be ambient light present in the room. This ambient light may be from actual light sources such as electrical lighting or light leakage from windows during the daylight hours. Another often overlooked source of ambient light is the screen itself. If the walls and ceiling are light colored or white then light from the screen will reflect off the walls and illuminate the screen. This is a particularly troublesome problem when the image contains both bright and dark areas.

The following is a very simple demonstration of what the difference is between a white screen surface and a gray screen surface.

How they look with a camera flash:


In a room with a fair bit of ambient light:


The same panels in a darkened room with white walls and ceiling:


In this photo I compared a matte white with a gray panel that also has some polyurethane and silver metallic added:

In this case the poly and SM boosted the gain and completely recovered the white levels.

Now once we add some ambient light the gray competes very well in the whites and beats the matte white in black level performance.


Of particular interest are the photos where the room is darkened and the gray has had some reflectivity (gain) added. IMHO, The gray and white screens are indistinguishable. My point is that if a gray screen looks as good in a darkened room and looks better when there is some ambient light then why not go gray. What do you have to lose if you don't go too far down the gray scale. Aside from showing the effect a gray screen can have I also hope this demonstrates that a light gray screen may be a wise choice even if you have a very light controlled theater.

While the use of a gray screen may be helpful in improving the perceived contrast of an image when ambient light is present, it is best to reduce the ambient light hitting the screen. Recessed and dimmed lighting in the seating area, proper light blocking window treatments, and darker less reflective surfaces in the room will do far more to improve the projected.

Controlling Ambient Light

The most effective way to improve the image quality on any screen is to eliminate or at least control ambient light. There are two types of ambient light to deal with. There is the obvious ambient light from sources such as windows and lighting in the room. The less obvious source of ambient light is from the screen itself. In rooms with light colored walls and ceiling, the light from the screen will be reflected back onto the screen. This is not such a problem in very dark scenes, but in scenes that have light areas and dark areas, this rebound ambient light is a real contrast killer. The light from the bright areas is reflected back from the room surfaces and washes out the dark areas of the scene.


Window Coverings

Controlling light from windows is quite simple. Either line the drapes with Blackout Cloth or install light blocking roller blinds behind the usual window dressings. In the case of adding BOC to drapes there are two basic approaches. The first is to actually add the BOC to the back side of the drapes by sewing it to the drapes. You can also purchase BOC drapes that are hung behind the decorative drapes. Roller blinds may seem like the more straight forward approach but they have one problem. If they are hung in front of the window the light will spill out the sides. If you have heavy drapes at the ends of the window this may not be a problem. Light will however spill out the top and also out the bottom. If you have windows that are set back in a box then be sure to mount the roller blind inside the box area. This will prevent the light from spilling out the sides, top, and bottom.

In my own case I have a roller blind over the living room window. In front of that are vertical blinds. The window is flush mounted, so there is no box to set the roller blind back into. I get a considerable amount of spillage out the top and the sides. The top turned out to be the easiest to deal with. The vertical blind has brackets that reach out from the wall to hold the track. I simply purchased some MDF molding that was already primed white. I then laid it on top of the brackets and the track. This blocked the light from spilling out the top and lighting up the ceiling in that area. I still had a great deal of light spilling out the sides. I purchased some plastic resin molding and attached it to the edges of the window frame so that it stuck out from the wall. This blocked the side spillage. This could also be done at the bottom but in my case the window has cranks that prevent me from lowering the blind completely. You may have already realized that what I did was effectively add a 2" deep box around my window so that the roller blind edges were covered.





The ideal mounting for roller blinds is an inside mount as shown above.
The outside mount will allow light to spill out from the sides and top.

Controlled Lighting

When it comes to electrical lighting in the room, the rule is quite simple. Don't have any light shinning on the screen. The most common way to achieve this is to employ can lighting. The light bulb must be recessed in the can though. This directs the light straight down. That prevents it from shinning on the screen while still illuminating the sitting area. If installing pot lights is not an option then look for hanging light fixtures with opaque shades. Any kind of lighting that tightly directs light to one area only is what you want to use.


Bad, Better, Best recessed pot lights:




Bad and Better Pendant hanging lamps:


Even this steel shade has holes in the sides that you may want to cover. A metal sleeve inserted inside the shade may work. Ideally you don't want any light to escape sideways and fall on the screen surface.

In all cases a dimmer switch is advisable to lower light levels as much as possible.
Remote controlled dimmer switches can add a "cool factor" to your theater setup.

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Rebound Ambient Light Control

Often not considered by the novice is rebound ambient light. This is light from the screen that reflects off of light colored room surfaces and back onto the screen. This is particularly troublesome in scenes with both light and dark areas. A good example would be hockey players with black shorts. The white light from the ice will light up the room and washout the black shorts. The result is a significant reduction in perceived contrast ratio.

The idea theater room would would have all flat black room surfaces. In many cases that is exactly what many private theater builders have done in their homes. More and more people are trying to setup what is actually a "Home Theater". That is a setup utilizing an larger screen of more than 80" and a front projector, but unlike the dedicated private theater, this is setup in the family room or living room. The price of front projection equipment and surround sound audio equipment has made home theater a reality. There is only one catch. The average living room does not employ projector friendly colors schemes. This also introduces the "Wife Approved Factor" into the equation.

Take heart though, while flat black may be the ideal, there are some very attractive alternatives. Going from white walls to slate blue walls, and possibly a lighter shade of slate blue ceiling can still result in a significant improvement in image quality. Here are a few examples that your spouse may find acceptable:

Back Lighting The Screen

Another way to introduce some ambient light without it hitting the screen is through back lighting. Some people also believe this may enhance the perceived contrast ratio. I am not so sure about that but I do know that this method of providing some light in the room without detracting from the image quality does seem to work. Even in my white living room.


Click images to enlarge.

Another common method of back lighting a fixed frame screen is to mount rope lights behind the frame as shown here:



In both cases a dimmer control can also help to adjust the light levels.

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Room For A White Screen

White is right if there is no ambient light!

It's that simple! If you can block out all light from windows, you will turn all the lights off, and your room colors are dark with flat finishes , then a white screen will be the best choice. These conditions are difficult to achieve in a living room or family room. if you are setting up a dedicated private theater then these conditions can all be designed into your theater.

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The Best DIY White Screen (No Painting!!!)

I do not claim to be an all knowing expert on DIY Screens, but I have certainly read a lot in forums and examined many screen shots. IMHO, the Wilsonart "Designer White" laminate DIY Screen has to be the best DIY white screen I have run across. This is an extremely durable material intended for use as a counter top covering. It is flexible enough to allow it to be rolled up for shipping. This flexibility also makes it easy to get around tight corners and into your room. This flexibility also makes it ideal for those implementing a curved screen. While flexible it is also stiff enough to lay flat when unrolled. It is fairly easy to cut and mount with many options from simple mirror clips to frame mounting. It comes in 4'x8' sheets and also can be ordered in larger sizes up to 5'x12'. So for those that can use a fixed white screen, I can't think of any reason why you would not go with the Wilsonart "Designer White" laminate as a screen material.

Here are links to some great posts from Clarence who has tried the Designer White and speaks quite highly of it:

• Receiving & Unpacking
• Compared to other screens
• Some amazing screen shots

My favorite screen shot from Clarence:

NOTE: Clarence has a very good CRT projector and a totally light controlled private theater.


Here is a nice demonstration of a Wilsonart "Designer White" screen being constructed. Great job Kressilac!

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Guide To Gray Paint

Introduction

At this point it is assumed you have read the previous posts regarding the choice of a white or gray screen. If you have decided to go with a white screen and will be painting it, the following posts will contain some useful information regarding the choice of paint. Otherwise you can ignore all the gray tinting information.

For those that have decided on implementing a gray screen, the following posts will provide some information regarding the choices to be made regarding the brand, base sheen, and gray tint of common house paints.

One of the first considerations is how dark or light a gray is appropriate for your setup and desired results. This is not an easy question to answer. In fact the only person who can answer that question is you. There will be some methods suggested on how one might go about determining this for yourself. An effort will be made to minimize both the expense and effort involved in this determination.

Here is a fun thread that ultimately demonstrated that there may be no such things as too dark a gray: Breakthrough, ambient rejecting screen (Maybe?) Just be warned that while a very important concept was demonstrated it was done "tongue in cheek" so don't be fooled by the title of the thread.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia page for the Munsell Color System.


Quick Selection Guide

This is a very crude guide to select an appropriate shade of gray. It also assumes a knowledge of the Munsell Neutral Grade Shades nomenclature.

Typically the darkest anyone should consider for a home theater screen is around N8. There are exceptions where very high ambient light conditions combined with a very bright presentation projector will perform well with darker shades of gray.

For early generation consumer home theater projectors I would stay in the N9 region. That is projectors with less than 300 Lumens of optimized output on screens in the 100" size range. There were many bright home theater projectors brought to market in the year 2007. Many of these projectors were capable of producing light output in the 500 lumen range while still being configured to produce exceptionally high quality images. For these projectors an N8 could be accommodated in the event of higher ambient light conditions.

That is about all the guidance I can offer without the end user employing some effort to try samples of shades of gray to determine what will work for them.


Neutral Gray

Most people understand that black absorbs all colors of light and white reflects all colors of light. There is one aspect that is often not given much consideration. That is the fact that black absorbs all wavelengths of light "equally" and white reflects all wavelengths of light "equally". This is very important in the understanding of what is meant by a neutral gray.

A neutral gray reflects and absorbs all wavelengths of light "equally". At least that is the ideal that is striven for when trying to mix or identify existing tints that result in a neutral gray paint. Here are some visualizations of near neutral gray tints for Benjamin Moore paints:

Near N9 Neutral Gray


Near N8 Neutral Gray

Near Neutral Gray Tint Visualizations:

Using Easy RGB To Identifying Near Neutral Gray Tints

The EasyRGB website has amassed a database of color data for many brand name wall paints. It has a Color Match utility that allows you to select a brand of paint, set the RGB value and then it searches that brand's color collection for the 4 closest matches. This is very useful to identify near neutral gray tints from the included paint manufacturers.

Open the www.easyrgb.com web page and select the "Color Matching" link.

Select the Brand and Color Collection:

Enter the RGB values desired: (N8 = 202 202 202, N9 = 229 229 229)

When you click on the "Match" button the resulting tints are then displayed:

Warning: I see the site is up for sale. Lets hope we do not lose this very helpful resource when new owners take over.

Considerations For Selecting A Base Paint

There are three main considerations for a wall pain to use as a DIY Screen paint. The one that matters most to people seems to be brand preference. The two that matter most to the purposes of a screen surface are the sheen and the ability of the paint to level out. In most cases a sheen lower than eggshell is desirable. The ability to level out determines how smooth the surface will be. If the paint does not level out then there will be more roller texture.

Brand Preference

In my experimentation I primarily used Behr Flat UPW #1050. It is a flat latex paint that I found easy to apply. If rolled out properly, it would level out quite well. It is very flat and therefore it would hide some very severe blemishes. It is also a very commonly available product that is sold at Home Depot all over North America. The only real draw back to it was a lack of near neutral tints.

An alternative that is also sold at Home Depot are the Glidden paints. In Canada Home Depot sells CIL paints. Both Glidden and CIL are product that fall within the ICI Paints brands. ICI Paints are sold under various brands all over the world. In Australia they sell DULUX paints. The most important aspect after international availability is the fact that they have neutral gray tints. For more details on the Glidden/ICI Paints neutral tints refer to the Glidden Neutral Gray Shades chapter-post.


Sheen

I did perform some experimenting with the Behr paints to determine which sheens worked well without hot spotting. The following is a brief summary of what I learned.

Behr Flat #1050

I discovered that a truly flat paint like Behr UPW #1050 could hide some pretty severe blemishes. I had some sample panels that I had used to paint samples cards. As you can see the resulting surface was quite rough.


Click images to enlarge.


I was actually a little surprised at the fact that this roughness was completely invisible when illuminated by the projector.


Click images to enlarge.


Close inspection of the illuminated surface did not make the roughness any more visible.


Click images to enlarge.

It was apparent that this would be a good paint to use when a rough surface is unavoidable. So if you are ever faced with projecting on a rough wall like a cement block wall, then throw a few coats of very flat paint on it. You may find that even the grout lines are not visible.


Behr Flat Enamel #1850

The next sheen level I tried was the Behr UPW Flat Enamel #1850. It does have a very low luster sheen. It is meant to be more washable than the flat paint. Here are the close up shots of the illuminated surface:


Click images to enlarge.

You can see that there is a bit more sheen, but not much more than the flat latex.

continued . . . .

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Behr Flat Enamel #1850 Continued

Being a matte finish this still produces a surface with a very wide viewing cone. There is however a slight gain advantage over the flat paint. The left panel is Behr UPW Flat Enamel #1850. The right panel is Behr Flat UPW #1050.


Click images to enlarge.


Behr Eggshell #2050

In my opinion the Behr Eggshell finish is closer to a semi-gloss. I did contact Behr and they did say that the Behr sheens were slightly higher than other brands. You can clearly see the sheen is excessive on the eggshell.


Click images to enlarge.

In the last photo it is quite evident that the eggshell finish would cause hot spotting.


Behr Flat Exterior ULTRA UPW #4850

While killing some time at Home Depot I noticed the new Premium Plus Ultra Exterior Flat #4850 paint. Being self priming, UV resistant, and very durable, made it interesting as a screen paint base. I also understand that exterior paints are more flexible to tolerate greater expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. I tried this paint and was pleasantly surprised to fins it rolls on very smoothly and levels out very well. It is more of a matte finish like the Flat Enamel. The close ups show it to be similar to the flat enamel.


Click images to enlarge.

Like the Flat Enamel the Exterior ULTRA #4850 also has slightly more gain than the UPW #1050.


Click images to enlarge.

The left panel is the Behr ULTRA Flat #4850. The right panel is the Behr UPW #1050. It will depend on the image content, how much difference in brightness will be observed.


Retractable Screens & Exterior Paints

The characteristics of the Behr ULTRA #4850 make it an ideal paint to use on flixible substrates such as BOC and retractable screens. being a self priming paint it eliminates the need for one or more coats of primer. The inherent flexibility of the exterior paint makes it a better choice for a retractable screen that is rolled up repeatedly. The additional UV resistance make it a very good screen paint choice regardless of the substrate.

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Base Paint Selection Summary

For rough surfaces a very flat latex paint is the only choice. The characteristic 180 degree viewing cone of a flat surface, causes bumps, pits, and blemishes to literally dissapear when an image is projected on it. For smoother surfaces a "flat enamel", "washable flat", or matte finish provides a bit more gain without significantly narrowing the viewing cone. There may be some brands that offer low luster sheens less than an eggshell but greater than a matte. Before using anything approaching an eggshell I would caution that it may cause hot spotting. The use of exterior paints as screen paint is advisable. Exterior paints are less likely to fade and they tend to be more durable than their interior counterparts. The following are only suggestions based on manufacturer's information available on the internet. I have only investigated the Behr products first hand.


BEHR Paints

• Rough Surface: Behr PREMIUM PLUS® Interior Flat #1050
• Smooth Substrate: Behr PREMIUM PLUS® ULTRA Interior Flat Enamel #1750
• Smooth Substrate: Behr PREMIUM PLUS® Interior Flat Enamel #1850
• Flexible Substrate: Behr Premium Plus Ultra™ Exterior Flat #4850

WARNING: I do not recommend the Flat Enamel #1850 as a one-can screen paint. It does not level well resulting in excessive roller texture. Although I have not tested it myself, I would recommend the new ULTRA Flat Enamel #1750 over the #1850.
* CIL Paints (Canada)

• Rough Surface: CIL Dulux Interior Latex Velvet Flat
• Smooth Substrate: CIL SMART3 WASH & WEAR Interior Paint - Ultra Matte
• Flexible Substrate: CIL Endurance Exterior 100% Acrylic Latex Flat

* Glidden Paints

• Rough Surface: Glidden Evermore™ Premium Interior Flat
• Smooth Substrate: Glidden Evermore™ Premium Interior Super Washable Flat
• Flexible Substrate: Glidden Evermore™ Premium Exterior Flat
• Flexible Substrate: Endurance® Exterior Latex Flat

* DULUX Paints (Australia)

• Rough Surface: Dulux Wash & Wear 101 Advanced Flat
• Smooth Substrate: Dulux Wash & Wear 101 Advanced Low Sheen (may be eggeshell)
• Flexible Substrate: Dulux Weathershield, Low-Sheen

* - The Glidden Neutral Gray tint codes are applicable to all ICI Paint brands. If you can find an ICI Paint brand that is sold in your region then the neutral gray codes should be applicable. Visit the ICI Paints web page to locate their international paint brands.


Valspar Paints (Available @ Lowes)

• Rough Surface: Valspar Ultra Premium Interior Flat Finish
• Smooth Substrate: Valspar Ultra Premium 100% Acrylic Latex Interior Flat Enamel
• Smooth Substrate: Valspar Signature Colors™ Interior 100% Acrylic Matte Wall Paint
• Flexible Substrate: Valspar Duramax® Exterior Flat House Paint (self-priming)

Sherwin-Williams Paints

• Rough Surface: Cashmere™ Interior Latex Paint, Flat-Enamel
• Smooth Substrate: Duration Home - Flat
• Flexible Substrate: Duration® Exterior Latex Coating - Flat

Input from: Jeff the Painter
Benjamin Moore Paints

• Rough Surface: Colorscapes® Latex Flat Finish 515
• Smooth Substrate: AURA® Matte Waterborne Interior Paint 522 (self-priming)
• Smooth Substrate: Regal® Matte Finish N221
• Flexible Substrate: MoorLife® 100% Acrylic Flat Latex House Paint N105
• Flexible Substrate: MoorGard® 100% Acrylic Low Lustre Latex House Paint N103
  WARNING: This "Low Lustre" may be too glossy, trial required.

Paints

• Rough Surface: ?
• Rough Surface: ?
• Smooth Substrate: ?
• Smooth Substrate: ?
• Flexible Substrate: ?
• Flexible Substrate: ?

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DIY Custom Gray Tints For Behr Ultra Pure White Paint

To achieve lighter shades of gray I have mixed this down with un-tinted Behr Ultra Pure White paint. The un-tinted UPW has an RGB of 248 248 241, therefore as you dilute the N7 tint it will move away from a neutral gray. In an effort to offset this I have rounded up for the Lamp Black and rounded down for the Brown Oxide and Medium Yellow.

I have acquired some Behr UPW #4850 tinted "Dark Gray" (ie 0 8 0 LB ...). This shade appears to be very close to an N8 shade. Given that observation, I have guesstimated the relationship to the Munsell gray scale. If and when I get actual spectrometer readings I will post them and update these tints if it is warranted.

Tint formulas reflect the new 384ths ounce colorant measurement for Behr Paints.

Xrite N7 Tint Formula {Ultra Dark Gray}

Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
124 Lamp Black
028 Brown Oxide
012 Medium Yellow

Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
496 Lamp Black
112 Brown Oxide
048 Medium Yellow

~N7.5 DIY Tint {Extra Dark Gray}

Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
093 Lamp Black
021 Brown Oxide
009 Medium Yellow

Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
372 Lamp Black
084 Brown Oxide
036 Medium Yellow

~N8 DIY Tint {Dark Gray}

Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
062 Lamp Black
014 Brown Oxide
006 Medium Yellow

Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
248 Lamp Black
056 Brown Oxide
024 Medium Yellow

~N8.5 DIY Tint {Medium Gray}

Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
048 Lamp Black
011 Brown Oxide
005 Medium Yellow

Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
192 Lamp Black
043 Brown Oxide
019 Medium Yellow

~N9 DIY Tint {Light Gray}

Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
031 Lamp Black
007 Brown Oxide
003 Yellow Oxide

Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1750,1850,4850)
124 Lamp Black
028 Brown Oxide
012 Medium Yellow

Updated: 2009-08-18

NOTE: I have had the same tint formulas mixed in all three Behr bases, #1050, #1850, and #4850. Under room lighting, light from the projector, and bright sun light I have not been able to detect any significant difference. There may well be a measurable difference with a spectrometer though.


Very Loose Gray Scale Selection Guide


White Screen - Untinted Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)

This is probably the easiest screen shade to specify the conditions for. A darkened room with no ambient light, dark colored ceiling, and dark colored walls. This would obviously be a dedicated theater room. A typical light colored living room with vertical blinds and all the lights turned off does not qualify. If you do in fact have a room that is suitable for a white screen then you should probably reconsider the

Wilsonart "Designer White" laminate as the best white DIY screen surface.
Light Gray - ~N9 Tinted Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)

This can be a good selection for a dedicated theater as well. If your projector has weak blacks, there will be some low level ambient light, or your room colors are not really dark, a light gray can be beneficial. You may actually find that when the room is fully darkened the light gray is almost identical to a white screen.

Medium Gray - ~N8.5 Tinted Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)

This is really just a compromise shade for those unsure if they want a light gray or a dark gray. It may also be a good choice if your projector has a video optimized output of less than 400 Lumens and/or your screen is larger than 100" 16:9. If you will be using your screen in a light colored living room but plan on turning all the lights off and completely block any windows this may also be a good choice.

Dark Gray - ~N8 Tinted Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)

This is the shade of gray that will tolerate fairly high ambient light conditions while still allowing a home theater projector in the 400 lumen range light up a 100" 16:9 screen. For example, a living room with light colored surfaces, and enough undirected light on to read and/or eat dinner.

Extra Dark Gray - ~N7.5 Tinted Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)

This would be a good shade for a screen in a public area where a fairly bright presentation projector is being used. A small conference room with a presentation projector in the 2000 lumen range. This is probably not a good shade for a home theater projector. This would be a good shade for a softly lit pub with a projector like the Optoma EP1690 which was measure to put out over 1000 lumens when fined tuned for a high-contrast image.

Ultra Dark Gray - Xrite N7 Tinted Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)

If you have a veritable light cannon and need to use it in fairly bright ambient light conditions, then this would be the shade to consider. This might be a good shade for a well lit restaurant and a projector like the Sanyo PLV-WF10 projector. At 4000 measured lumens with both lamps on and half that with one lamp on it will be able to light up a very dark gray screen.

Spreadsheet calculations for the Behr DIY Gray tints.

 

XriteN7_Behr_Tint_Calcs.zip 3.5703125k . file

ICI Paints Neutral Gray Shades

ICI Paints == CIL / Glidden / Dulux . . . .

ICI Paints has many international brands of paint. They all support the color codes for their neutral shades of gray. Here in Canada the brand is CIL. In the US it is Glidden and in Australia it is DULUX. There is also a cheaper CIL DULUX here in Canada. All the following codes are supported by these companies, according to ICI Paints, the parent company.

• 00NN 05/000 *A . . . "Dark Secret" (black)
• 00NN 07/000 ??? . . . "Deep Onyx" (black)
• 00NN 13/000 *A . . . "Obsidian Glass"
• 00NN 16/000 ??? . . . "Grey Tabby"
• 00NN 20/000 *A . . . "Grimmy's Grey"
• 00NN 25/000 ??? . . . "Seal Grey"
• 00NN 31/000 M . . . . "Icon Grey" (~N6)
• 00NN 37/000 W/B . . "Granite Gray" (~N6.5)
• 00NN 45/000 ??? . . . "Dover Grey"
• 00NN 53/000 W/B . . "Veil" (~N7.5)
• 00NN 62/000 W/B . . "Universal Gray" (~N8)
• 00NN 72/000 W/B . . "Snow Field" (~N8.5)

Glidden (CIL) Color Card vs Munsell Color Card Scan



The color cards should be available at Home Depot for color matching or you can go to Lowes in the States and get a computer generated color match from the color code.


Data Received From ICI Paints



Something seemed wrong with the RGB values so I recalculated them from the XYZ and CIE L*ab values and organized it in the attached spreadsheet.



If and when I get any clarification regarding the slight discrepencies in the XYZ and CIE L*ab data this will get updated.

 

ICI_Paints_NeutralGrayData.xls.doc 49k . file

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