[Phat Phreddy]

I have come to the conclusion that I want to experiment with a higher gain to give that little extra light output and help my Davis clone (600 lumen) fight minor ambient light in daytime viewing... I can live with some decreased black level in perfect dark as it is becoming clear that have a PJ as a regular TV means its usage pattern has changed (thank God Davis bulbs are $414 for 6000 hours)...


When I first made my screen I had a lot of hassle getting blackout material and what I finally found locally was yellowish on the vinyl side and white on the fabric side... Because of the color issues I used the fabric side which I think would be less reflective than the vinyl.


I am looking to try a range from about 1.3 to 2 or even 2.5 gain ratings and wonder if anyone has suggestions on how I may achieve this (reflective paints etc)...


I have read with interest KBK's screen goo but email direct has not resulted in much info so far. Has anyone tried screen goo and was is a solution that could be done without a sprayer. How did you find the result worked out both in ease of application, and end result. Any estimates of what gain was achieved would be nice too.


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[Huey]

Have you consider bright white paint in satin or low gloss finish. I noticed that tile board (glossy white laminate) has very high gain (too high) as it brighten everything. It also can cause hot spotting if you sit in wrong area, but if I sit below the projector, it looks great without hotspotting. I have VPL-CX1 which is only 550 lumens and tile board really helps. Satin may be low gloss enough not to get hot spotting. Just a thought.


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Huey ;-]

 

[Gary McCoy]

For your existing blackout screen, about 3 coats of Behr "Ultra Btright White" in latex eggshell finish would be my reccomendation. This has about 1.3 gain (the estimate is from other messages in the Forum). The slight sheen of the eggshell gives you noticeably brighter reflections which drop off as you get pretty far off-axis. The next shinier finish is semi-gloss which some have reported hot-spotting with.


Behr paints are distributed by Home Depot. If your screen has the vinyl side out just paint that. If the fabric side is exposed, one coat of latex enamel undercoater should be used before the 3 coats of latex enamel. Painter's pads generally are preferred over brushes or rollers - lay the screen flat and alternate direction on the strokes between coats, each 90 degrees different from the last.


Greater gains than 1.3 require precision application of refective pigments and fused plastic coatings - best buy commercial screen materials for the higher gains, as yet no one has produced a satisfactory DIY hi-gain finish.


Gary

 

[Figgie]

Has anyone tried Pearlecent automotive paint? The reason i say that is because I got my swatches from both Stelwart and Da-Lite. And the first thing I smelled was the laquer application of the pearlecent paint.


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