[Pinjas]

Hello, I ordered a designer white (DW) Wilsonart (WA) laminate. I paid around 80 dollars for a 5x12 sheet type 101 from their factory in St. Paul, MN. I hope the order is ready to pick up next week.


I'd like to be ready to put up the screen the moment I get it home. The first method I imagined was to just set it upon some wood to give it the elevation it needs and let it just stand as perfectly straight as I can get it.


However, I have seen several threads of people making various frames for the laminate, and I always wonder, why? Is there a good reason to put the assumed flat laminate on a flat surface and screw/velcro/nail/glue/whatever it on?


I have seen a thread where an individual placed their laminate on a curved surface, this is something I have imagined doing myself, but I avoid the idea in my mind due to the complexity of the idea seeming not to warrant the effort (lazy). So, is putting a flat surface against nothing a bad idea? I imagined putting a few holes on the laminate and hanging it from the ceiling, like a sheet of paper in a binder.


I assume I understand very little about the ideas of ideal projector setup. I've read a lot about black out cloth (boc); is it ideal to place BOC next to the edge of where the projected image ends? If so, why?

 

[kamon211]

Hey Pinjas, im in the same boat as you, my RS15 should get here thursday, and ive pretty much made up my mind to go with wilsonart DW, ill probably go with a 5x10 and cut it to the size i need, im thinking a 120" is about the size i want.


I was going through the forums for ideas and someone said they used some sort of 1/2" thick honeycomb cardboard type material. Glued the laminate to the board to create a very stiff lightweight screen. Im trying to find that post again to PM them and see how it turned out, because i pretty much want to do the same thing.


Get a stiff honeycomb board slightly larger than the laminate, glue some black velvet covered boarder around the edges outside the laminate directly on the cardboard. Cut the excess board off and glue to a wooden frame.


(Im thinking it would be a better idea to drawn an outline around the laminate+boarder before doing any gluing, cut the board to the right size 1st, glue the wood frame to the board, then add the laminate+boarders after its settled)


Im very inexperianced when it comes to this type of thing, I lean more to working with computer parts than wood and nails, so im not sure how well it will come out.


so far this is what ive come up with, Ive gotten a cold from my son so its gonna suck trying to get all this done before my projector gets here, not to mention ive gotta go to work, so i guess im gonna have to take my time with this

 

[tbase1]

When I built my screen I mounted plywood to the wall, trimed it out and then I glued the laminate to it. The frame helped me apply the laminate by acting as a guide.

 

[Bizill]

okay, no need to start my own thread since this one exists. i just got my 5 X 12 sheet of designer white. it's laid out on my garage floor on some blankets. it's definately not stiff alone. but does anyone have any reason they can explain to me why NOT to just screw this big 137" diag 2.35:1 screen directly to the drywall whilst making sure to hit every stud along the span? then i could finish it up by making the screen larger than the 137" so i can apply some velvet tape to it? someone please let me know if this would pose a problem.


this would work nicely i'd think because if i moved to a new house or god forbid i lose this one, i can just unscrew from the wall and then roll that screen back up.


please advise me here. my drywall seems pretty darn plum/level/square and without waves nor peaks nor valleys.

 

[Pinjas]

Yeah, I have been using this laminate designer white for a while now. I tried to build a frame of my own design but it hasn't worked out as I hoped it would. I have a few good bows or bends towards the center. I can live with it but I definitely want to change that. I only have a small 4 door car available to me to pick up large objects with.


As it was said, the material is far from as sturdy as I thought it was. I ordered some samples, 8 inch by 10 inch pieces. That stuff they sent was far thicker than the type 107 I got. I might consider the idea of just screwing it to the wall if I thought I had the option and ability to do so. However, it would take more than just each corner to be screwed for sure. The biggest problem with the idea is maneuvering the laminate. I actually let it bend just a little bit and it's left a permanent mark on the bottom of the screen, luckily I am not projecting on that portion of the screen.


Personally, I don't know if it is worth the trouble. I have an HC3800 projector, I always run it on low lamp mode. But I always get a 'hot spot'. The screen does indeed have a sort of sheen to it, which creates a bit of less than uniform image, at least in degrees of brightness. The big problem that sits for me is that I am setup in my basement. Basically all the walls are made of some kind of concrete and stone, nothing is flat and dry walled. My best options are either real screens, or something like a very large piece of MDF or something like it, maybe paint that surface to my liking and just lean set that up.


I was looking on craigslist for projection screens. I don't know if you are going to be any less happy with any old 100 inch projection screen versus a designer white laminate. But I am betting you could be happier with the projection screen instead of the wilson art designer white screen.


The thicker stuff is far more exspensive, for these prices I feel like I should have just gone with a real projector screen, used or new, as far up to some of the 'nicer' dalite stuff.


I've heard of some people using some sort of stretchy material, I wonder how that's working out.

 

[Jim McC]

Pinjas, I'm surprised to hear about the hot-spotting. I didn't think the DW did that. I also have the HC3800, and I use a sheet of painted, 1/2" thick MDF for my screen.

 

[Bizill]

i went ahead and built a frame to which i (for now) have only screwed the wilsonart dw to. i'm sitting at 137" diagonal with my 2.35:1 screen with ZERO hot spotting. i'm impressed with this stuff. i still have yet to finish up with a velvet-wrapped border though. the stuff gets pricey. i'll wait to see if i can find a 50% off coupon for joann.

 

[Pinjas]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bizill /forum/post/18319498


i went ahead and built a frame to which i (for now) have only screwed the wilsonart dw to. i'm sitting at 137" diagonal with my 2.35:1 screen with ZERO hot spotting. i'm impressed with this stuff. i still have yet to finish up with a velvet-wrapped border though. the stuff gets pricey. i'll wait to see if i can find a 50% off coupon for joann.

How did you make your frame and what did you use to make it? Maybe you could include some pictures and such?

 

[Bizill]

i still have yet to make a border. finding GOOD velvet on the cheap is near-impossible. anyway, for now i just screwed the wa dw to the frame. screws will be covered by border. i may end up glueing the screen to frame, but i kinda wanted to be able to break this down for transit or sale without the need for a flatbed. it's 137" diag (viewable)

that's a 40" tv in the third pic, just for comparison's sake. and yes, i need a new low-profile entertainment stand.

 

[Pinjas]

Hmm, the frame looks fantastic. I feel a bit of shame in my own design.


It's something I've considered several times myself, how to create good center support for the laminate?


Glue sounds viable, but it's permanent for sure. Once you setup on the frame, it's stuck there unless you know of a way to soften glue, and separate the laminate from the panels without obliterating it, which sounds very unlikely.


I didn't really consider not using 2x4's, thanks for the solid response.


I can only suspect that my hot spotting has something to do with the lack of flatness to the laminate. There are a few bends that certainly seem brighter than other spots.

 

[Jim McC]

The only way to get a nice, wrinkle free surface is to glue it to the proper substrate. Just like you would a countertop.

 

[smokarz]

Bizill, that looks awesome.


what did you use? plywood or MDF? and what was the total cost for the frame?

 

[Bizill]

smoke, i used pine. the good stuff at home depot, not the lesser quality stuff. no splinters. pretty straight. i was using 10 foot boards, wish they had 12's, and i hand-picked each one to ensure uniformity. my dimensions are 131" x 53 and some odd inches. i left room to place the border within the outermost dimensions of the screen.


screws, wood, braces and wilsonart came out to $200 and when i get done with the border and velvet, it will be approximately $300. an equally sized screen in 2.35 fashion from elite screens would have been about $600 shipped from visual apex. so i saved money while feeling i got a screen with what many have said to be more gain.


very nice.

 

[smokarz]

thanks Bizill,


i thought most people use MDF? didn't know pine was the better quality.


what size was the pine? was it 3"? also, did you pre-drill holes on the DW before screwing it to the frame?

 

[larrychief]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim McC /forum/post/18331944


The only way to get a nice, wrinkle free surface is to glue it to the proper substrate. Just like you would a countertop.

Jim:


Actually, my WA DW curved screen build has resulted in a very nice screen surface, no wrinkles or other defects, and does not have the laminate glued to a surface. A number of slides showing the general ideas of the project are in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1193432 posted on 11-13-09. I have a more complete PPT version I'd be happy to e-mail upon request to: [email protected] .


Larry

 

[kaczmarczyk]

I glued my DW WA directly to a sheet of MFD as I needed the screen to be approximately an inch from the wall due to some window casings the screen sat between. I hung the screen with a home made french cleat made out of poplar. Approximately 6 months later, this past Feb, I noticed the screen was bowing out at the bottom. I took down the screen and upon further inspection noticed the screen was actually bowing in the middle. I decided to attach 3 more piece of poplar to the wall horizontally, 2 in the middle of the wall to correct the bend and another piece on the wall near where the bottom of the screen would be. I then attached one last piece of poplar directly to the bottom of the back of the screen MFD and then anchored this piece directly into that bottom piece of poplar on the wall. This corrected my bowing and I think this solution will help guard against this problem in the future.


I'm still not sure what caused the bowing in my screen. I would suspect it was the MFD attracting moisture as my screen is in my basement. I believe I also remember seeing another forum member speaking of his MFD and DW bowing as well. I seem to recall his bowing might have also occurred in the winter and that his bowing corrected itself after a few months of warmer weather.


My contractor friend suggested next time I build a screen I should use a sheet of plywood instead of the MFD. Personally, and if my window casings were not an issue, I would probably attach the DW directly to wall next time...just as Mississippi Man has suggested several times in these threads. Glue directly to the wall and build a frame around it. Cost effective, simple and reduces any potential bowing issues.


With that said I am extremely happy with my screen build and pic quality of the DW!

See post #42, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&highlight=x10 for some pics!

 

[Bizill]

the other gentleman had a curved screen and ONLY glued to the outside perimeter frame and had only one center brace. this is why i made 6 inner vertical braces on my frame. STILL i have some bowing in the middle that can only be seen if i press it in with my hand. that's why i'm debating glueing it or not. but then it will no longer be able to be broken down. i'll probably leave it be.


as for mounting the WA directly to the wall, i almost did that but opted not to. looking with my naked eye at the wall it seemed flat as could be. i brought a long 8 foot straightedge home from work and found i had a part of the wall in the middle that stuck out almost 3/4 of an inch to either left or right outer edge. thus i made a frame.


no, i didn't pre-drill holes for the wilsonart. i test screwed the screen on the excess that was to be cut off and found it posed no issue. now covering them will be a test. baseboard has a relief in the middle cut out but it's not deep enough by 1/32-1/16 of an inch. i could countersink the wilsonart, but i'm thinking after i staple on some velvet, it'll hide any gaps and make the border look tight against the screen surface. i'm waiting on different velvet samples now.


my frame pieces of wood were 1x4's which actually measure out to 3/4"x3 1/2 inch, the same way 2x4's don't measure 2"x4". that's annoying.


one more thing, i didn't mean to imply pine was best for a frame. what i was saying is that i chose the best pine they offered. the pine seems soft and when i screwed on my french cleats, i DID predrill just to be safe. i didn't want the wood splitting on me. that would be devastating.

 

[Jim McC]

I spoke to a Wilsonart dealer today, and he told me even if you glue the laminate to MDF, you still have to paint the backside and all 4 edges. If you don't, it will take in moisture and warp. The other material he recommended using is Particle Board, but I don't know if that's made larger than 4' X 8'. Does anyone know?

 

[kamon211]

I actually opted out of framing and used heavy duty 2" VELCRO rolls I bought at Lowes.

The laminate is 61x124 and its glued to 1/8" plywood board (used 2 4x8 pieces)


The screen is light, sturdy and much nicer than the white wall I was using lol

 

[GrandPixel]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bizill /forum/post/18326344


i may end up glueing the screen to frame, but i kinda wanted to be able to break this down for transit or sale without the need for a flatbed

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinjas /forum/post/18331700


It's something I've considered several times myself, how to create good center support for the laminate?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim McC /forum/post/18331944


The only way to get a nice, wrinkle free surface is to glue it to the proper substrate. Just like you would a countertop.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bizill /forum/post/18344302


i have some bowing in the middle that can only be seen if i press it in with my hand. that's why i'm debating glueing it or not. but then it will no longer be able to be broken down. i'll probably leave it be.

I have heard of mixing an iron additive with paint for walls in a house so that things can be magnetically attached to the walls. I wonder if you could spray something like that on the back of WA DW and attach neodymium magnets (very strong) to your frame. Then there would be no screwing and the laminate would pull right off. You would probably want to spray only the mount points, and not the entire back surface of the laminate. Also think about mounting or embedding the magnets into the backside of the frame.


Alternatively, there may be a removable adhesive that can be used to stick the laminate directly to the frame itself, no magnets involved.


Here is an example of "magnetic paint" that might be a good solution:
http://www.krylon.com/products/magnetic_paint/


Magnets... this one is probably too powerful but they sell others

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetai...=BZX0ZX0Y0-N52


I'm sure there are many other manufacturers and resellers for both the paint and the magnets. Hopefully someone can find an inexpensive source.