[wbassett]

Ben I have an honest question. I am not sure if I misunderstood, and if not I kinda need something explained.

Are you saying you used just the transparent base added to Bermuda Beige and it made it gray?

Also nobody is debating that you are saying that the AA Transparent Base has a semi gloss sheen to it, but everyone that's made a BW is reporting back that it has a matte finish and not an abundance of surface sheen.

If you were to mix 50/50 semi gloss poly with flat poly, you'd get something between an eggshell and satin finish. Considering the AAA Black Widow is 20% AA Aluminum mixed with a flat base, we're now looking at a sheen between flat and eggshell, ideally matte, but depending on the base used I can see it possibly going up to an eggshell, maybe between that and satin. I personally would say that would be a bad base to use.

Nobody is ripping on you, but I can also say from all my testing and empirical testing that the aluminum content does make a difference. Here in lay a quandary. You state your opinion and empirical testing proves it's nothing but the sheen, and mine says different.

This is one reason why I'm not a total fan of empirical... it's open to supposition and conjecture on the part of the individual. That's why I like to have hard data to go along with things.

Aluminum isn't new. You have used it, albeit in small amounts and in conjunction with a higher grade of mica than most DIY developers have used. In that sense I applaud you for breaking the mold and mind set of using low grade craft paints. I can tell you multiple commercial screens that also employ aluminum or other non-interference methods. Those screens also do not have a lot of sheen to them, they don't need it.

This is however quite different than your previous CG applications. I know I have pointed out some of the pitfalls of mica, mainly as I said low grade mica products... but I have also referred many people to take a look at CGIV. BW employs a very high amount of aluminum compared to other previous methods. It is apparent that not all paint bases are ideal, and we have tried to test out the most common paints people use.

Sheen does work to an extent, but goes out of control very fast. I'd rather have a screen that is matte, but reflective and more effective at sending the projected light back to the viewer than having a glossy screen that has a high probability of hot spotting.

I have something coming soon that hopefully will shed a lot of light on a few statements. If it works the way I think it will, then we will have a lot of things answered. If it doesn't work as I expect, I'll be the first to say the test proved other's theories. However if it does work, I honestly don't expect it to quell any debates some may have, and probably will open a Pandora's box of other questions they want answered. All in good time though.

As far as ambient light performance, GS is by far one of the best (and also by far the easiest) gray screen I have used that works exceptionally well with ambient lighting, and lots of it too.. and BW smoked it. With lights out viewing, and with the right projector lumens, it is a very good multi-purpose screen. Like I said above... for those that don't like a gray screen in the N8-N8.5 range, I have recommended your application as well as some other advanced mixes.