[jeffelliott]

Seems a lot of folks are interested in the GooSystems screen material and are actively seeking opinions. Here's my experience so far:


Ordered the digital grey primer and high gain digital grey topcoat from Ken. Package arrived in a timely fashion and was professional in appearance. Everything arrived as ordered.


I read the website and several threads on the forum to get some ideas on application techniques. Although I found some information, I needed some specific help so I contacted Ken. After about 20 minutes, Ken had me ready to spray.


The chosen application method was spraying via a gravity feed spray gun. When I spoke with Ken, he mentioned that he had been spraying at about 80psi. I tried spraying at this pressure and had some trouble with spatter and thus undesirable screen texture. Some fine grit sandpaper between primer coats helped alleviate the unwanted "furry" bumps on the screen. I finally decided on 35psi as the appropriate pressure given atmospheric conditions here in NC. Also, Ken had noted that the material needed to be thinned somewhere between 5% - 10%. Based on my particular situation, I needed to thin about 15% or so.


After the primer dried for an hour or so, I began to prepare the topcoat. I followed Ken's basic instructions while applying my own pressure and thinning experience. The topcoat flows quite smoothly out of the gun. It flows as well as any automotive coating I'’ve ever sprayed (which have only been a few different coatings, but really expensive ones). What I did notice is that some of the material would seem a bit glossy while an adjacent area would seem a bit flat. Ken advised that this was normal and that the material would "flatten out" over the course of a couple of days.


After the last application of topcoat dried for a couple of hours, I could not resist re-mounting the screen and firing up the old PJ. My first impression was that the colors were more vibrant and blacks were noticeably better. However, I noticed that the surface was quite uneven and that pans revealed "shadow-like" or "dirty" spots on certain places on the screen. These "dirty" areas were most noticeable during brighter scenes. Are these perhaps "hotspots� Does anyone know if this is normal and that they will disappear as the screen cures out?


I can't say definitively if the material was worth the investment as the screen is only a few hours old now and is not really dry. Also, I have not re-calibrated since the screen material was applied. If the "dirty spots" on the screen disappear, this thing will be awesome. So far, everything has been as advertised by Ken. It is important to note that the Goo is not ready to be sprayed right out of the can. A bit of prep work and some light experimentation is necessary to achieve a spray-able mixture. Ken's instructions are only guidelines, YMMV based on equipment, humidity, barometric pressure, etc.


I am going away this weekend and will view the screen again and post further findings upon my return. In the meantime, if you can answer the questions above please let me know.


Update: See my recent post below!

 

[jeffelliott]

Well, I fear I have made an error in application. The "dirty" spots have not diminished as of this morning. The colors are still awesome and black level is very good compared to my old screen surface. Perhaps the high gain topcoat was the wrong way to go based on my spraying skills (or lack thereof) and the material to which I applied the material.


I'll call Ken and see if he has suggestions for improvement. More to follow next week.


Jeff

 

[Tom Carey]

Jeff,


I used the lo-gain grey, but had no problem with dirty spots. Everything came out very uniform. Ken may be able to help you. Why not just spray on a couple more coats?


Tom Carey

 

[jeffelliott]

Well, had to go back to the drawing board a bit but all turned out well! My dirty spots were actually bumps of the "Goo" which had spattered onto the screen and dried. Since the texture was inconsistent on the screen, the areas with a higher concentration of bumps were less reflective and therefore "dirty".


To remedy the situation, I flipped the material over and started fresh on the back side. I re-primed but at a higher pressure this time (70psi). Also, I still had some unwanted texture. To alleviate this, I used my palm sander and some 150 grit sandpaper to level the primed surface a bit. Try sanding a 80 x 120 piece of fabric with a palm sander sometime! Anyway, my primed surface wound up feeling not unlike the raw vinyl material I used to use when doing upholstery work on vehicles.


Next, I applied the "Goo". I still thinned it about 15% but sprayed it at about 70psi as well. After three thin coats, things were looking good. I carried the screen back to my theater and fired up the PJ. Found a couple of hotspots and marked them with the blue 3m tape. Went back to garage and touched up the marked areas by keeping the gun farther back (approx. 30") and misting some "Goo" over the hotspots. Doing so definitely smoothed the viewing surface out.


Results:


-Screen is MUCH brighter than my blackout cloth. Not too bright, just right.

-Blacks are awesome! My little VT 540 looks like a Sharp 9000 I viewed recently... No slight intended on the Sharp owners.

-Colors are drastically improved. I used to used gamma correction Natural 1. Now, no correction at all!


I can't wait to see if the screen gets even better as is cures out. Even if it doesn't, it's still better than I ever imagined. Total thumbs up so far!


Lessons Learned:


-Surface prep means a lot: Make sure the material is dust free

-Thin the "Goo": When the "Goo" was about the consistency of milk, it flowed well and did not spatter. Too thick is BAD. Too thin is BAD. Test on old piece of cloth, note results and mixture, and use what works best.

-Listen to Ken: If Ken says 80psi, you'll be within 10psi when all is ready.

 

[yubyub]

jeffelliott,


Maybe I missed it, but what kind of surface were you spraying on, and how large (and what aspect) is your screen? I'm moving soon, and am considering a goo solution for my vt540, as well.


-Jon

 

[jeffelliott]

The material I used was a blackout panel I purchased from Lowe's Hardware. It's rather large (80x120"), but I built a motorized masking system to cover the excess area.

 

[Tom Carey]

2 other suggestions: Parlkland plastic, which I used; and your wall.

 

[barryz]

jeffelliott,

I don't want to sound in any way negative, however I'm still a bit skeptical. My own experience tells me that when a person puts in a lot of his own time and labour into a project that's dear to his/her heart (a labour of love, you might say), any improvement is hugely magnified. You're comparing the result with - blackout cloth? I've never used such material for a screen. How does it compare with a plain matte white surface?

 

[jeffelliott]

Quote:

Originally posted by barryz jeffelliott, I don't want to sound in any way negative, however I'm still a bit skeptical. My own experience tells me that when a person puts in a lot of his own time and labour into a project that's dear to his/her heart (a labour of love, you might say), any improvement is hugely magnified. You're comparing the result with - blackout cloth? I've never used such material for a screen. How does it compare with a plain matte white surface?

Actually, I don't have much time and labor in this project. I would probably have spent more time properly mounting a commercial screen in my specific application than I did painting my homemade screen. But I can understand your skepticism.


As for how blackout cloth compares to a plain matte white surface, I would say they are about the same. Since my screen is now grey (bought the grey stuff from Ken as I have a digital projector), comparison to a matte white surface yields an obvious benefit of the grey: noticeably better blacks. However, one benefit I was not expecting was a noticeably brighter and more vibrant picture than what I had with a "plain white matte surface". I guess this is due to the reflectivity of the screen paint compared to the blackout cloth.


All that being said, I have no motivation to plug Ken's product other than being a satisfied customer. Am I proud of the result... yes. Are the benefits attributable to my screen painting expertise: no way. The product did all of the work, I just followed directions. Don't take my word for it, do a few searches on parkland plastic and blackout cloth. Many folks here are using these materials unaltered as their screen. Do another search on Screen Goo and you should find several reviews written recently by other satisfied customers. Happy viewing!


Jeff