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Blackout cloth + paint = seethrough?

1297 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by cosgrovea, May 16, 2006

TheDingo

Discussion Starter · May 8, 2006

I made a screen a little while back by making a wooden frame, pulling blackout cloth over it, and painting it with three coats of Silverscreen. Original, right? Anyway, it looks great except one issue. When colors are light (ie whites), you can see the v shape of the frame from behind the cloth. Has anyone else had this problem and do you have any ideas how I could mask this issue?

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Jim McC

· #2 · May 8, 2006

I had the same problem, except I did not paint the B/O cloth. It turned out I bought the wrong B/O cloth. I did not buy 100% B/O cloth. I'm surprised you can still see the frame thru 3 coats of paint. You could try another coat, or start over with the proper cloth.

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rfisher1968

· #3 · May 8, 2006

I work for a textiles company and have painted BOC with no problems, completely opaque without paint. It looks like you need to find a different source for your BOC.

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motmayhem

· #4 · May 8, 2006

i have not had a problem w/ my boc either. even w/ my test screens. i just finished painting a second coat on my main, and i will see....or not - lol. but i do not forsee a problem. i purchased mine at joann's - where did you aquire yours?

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Jim McC

· #5 · May 9, 2006

It doesn't matter where he bought it, it's not "100% blackout" cloth. I think the correct stuff is called 3 pass blackout.

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motmayhem

· #6 · May 9, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McC
It doesn't matter where he bought it, it's not "100% blackout" cloth. I think the correct stuff is called 3 pass blackout.

not to some who have already purchased it, or know where to, but for others it may help where not to purchase, or what to actually look for.

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rfisher1968

· #7 · May 9, 2006

I use a acrylic coated cloth which I coat with paint for my screen. I know of two other fabrics that are simulated 3 layer fabric that is weaved together white-white-white and white-black-white.

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TheDingo

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 9, 2006

Hmm, well seeing as how I have no interest in starting much of this process over, any ideas for how to mask those beams? Perhaps I can just wrap a layer of light cloth between the beams and the screen? Like I said in the post, it's really not that bad, but noticable. Another coat of paint also won't help, as it has looked the same from coat 1 through 3.

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rfisher1968

· #9 · May 10, 2006

Try painting the backside of the cloth with a grey or white paint.

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seean54

· #10 · May 15, 2006

Does your cloth touch the support V when you are painting it? If so, I could see that being the problem.

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TheDingo

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 15, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by seean54
Does your cloth touch the support V when you are painting it? If so, I could see that being the problem.

Yes it did. Why would that be an issue?

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seean54

· #12 · May 15, 2006

Well if I had to guess when you painted your screen the support V received a slightly different paint pattern than the rest of screen. If that happened then you aren't really seeing the supports you are seeing the paint lines. That could explain why it only shows up in really bright scenes too.

I don't know how to fix it without doing a lot of work over. When I first started reading here, one of the DIY Frame threads told me to use quarter round, so the blackout cloth doesn't touch the frame. If you don't have the quarter round, I would probably suggest to start over, and rebuild the frame. The first link in the FAQ's just under the Section "Blackout Cloth" shows a good way to build the Frame.

the one from "eldamar" that ends in "screenhowTo"

I can't post the real site. Lack of total posts.

If that is out of the question, and you still want a suggestion that could fix your screen. It may be possible to paint your screen, and hang it upside down, so the screen side is facing the ground. That may help the paint dry consistently. This may help alleviate the V from your screen, but it probably won't be able to fix it.

Let me know if this helps. Or what you decide to do.

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cosgrovea

· #13 · May 16, 2006

I actually have the same problem. I bought what I thought to be Blackout cloth. When I asked the ladies at the fabric store if they had any Blackout cloth they said they did not know that I meant.

I told them the stuff you sew on the back of drapes to block out the light..... Then they said they knew what I was talking about. They showed it to me, and it looked good. So I bought it, but it on my frame and whoa! I can see the support brace. The screen still looks good, but it is a problem. I have my screen a few inches away from the wall, and some of the light is going through it. You can see it light up the back wall. Does yours do this?

One of my friends says it almost looks like the phillips ambi light technology.

So I am weighing my options. I might cut the old fabric off, and remove the staples and put on some real BOC. A PIA, but should not take too long.

I have some other material for screens coming in tomorrow, so I will just try them out and see how I like them before deciding on the BOC.

The two other things are Durotherm and melenaine. I will try and post some screen shots in my user gallery.

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