If we want retroreflectivity as well??

**robert_1967** · **02-12-09, 06:16 AM**

With the risk of busting another unlocked door....why dont you guys just use the retroreflective paint that 3M manufacters for painting textiles?

You can read about it here
http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediaw...6668OoCOrrrrQ-

Comments?

**Harpmaker** · **02-12-09, 01:20 PM**

Quote:

robert_1967 wrote:

With the risk of busting another unlocked door....why dont you guys just use the retroreflective paint that 3M manufacters for painting textiles?

You can read about it here
http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediaw...6668OoCOrrrrQ-

Comments?

3M makes a lot of stuff we would love to try, the problem is finding a source for it and the cost. Unless you buy stuff by the train-car load 3M isn't interested in selling to you directly.

**mechman** · **02-12-09, 03:47 PM**

Quote:

Harpmaker wrote:

3M makes a lot of stuff we would love to try, the problem is finding a source for it and the cost. Unless you buy stuff by the train-car load 3M isn't interested in selling to you directly.

Not even to someone in their own back yard...

**robert_1967** · **02-13-09, 06:41 AM**

Well, guys, I asked 3M in Sweden politely that I am a entuthiast that would like to test a theory. Where can I buy your diamond grade retroreflective sheeting?

Directly I got a number to a company selling traffic signs, and he had no problems of letting me buy material from him. I admit I had to pretend I was representing a one man company that "had an idea". The diamond grade sheeting I could get for $50/m (1,20m wide) if I wanted.

Im sure that if I asked him for a can of the paint, he would not say no. The trick is not to try to buy from the monster (3M) directly, but rather via aone of their large customers.

Honestly, I spend 4-5 hours just reading their product data sheets. Man, do they know optics or not

Have you seen their rear projection screen? I am drewling...

**muzz** · **02-13-09, 07:59 PM**

Anyone look here?

I haven't really looked at this, Tryg mentioned it.

http://www.amesresearch.com/reflect.htm

**mechman** · **02-13-09, 11:25 PM**

Quote:

muzz wrote:

Anyone look here?

I haven't really looked at this, Tryg mentioned it.

http://www.amesresearch.com/reflect.htm

Yep muzz we've seen Ames before. Not what we were looking for. We've probably got different motives than tryg.

We've found a few places so far. What we really need is more hours in the day.

Too many irons in the fire right now.

Did ya see all the gain readings? I'm gonna put it all in a new thread here soon. I've triple confirmed my readings last night using a 100 and a 70 ire field.

**muzz** · **02-14-09, 08:55 AM**

There were no motives behind it, someone asked for some reflective paint after scrubbing a blotch in a Da-Lite HP screen, and he said that he didn't know, but that maybe try this"".

I haven't seen the new gain readings, looking forward to them.
I will say that I have a DL HP on the way.
Each of my bulbs have > 3k on them, and I am not buying another bulb, but I will be buying a new PJ sooner or later.
The HP will give me another option as far as which PJ I get, I'll have the BW and the HP....I think I'll have it covered!!

**robert_1967** · **02-14-09, 12:56 PM**

Ok, I wont give up,

How about the famous Photoblocker?

**Harpmaker** · **02-14-09, 01:24 PM**

Quote:

robert_1967 wrote:

Ok, I wont give up,

How about the famous Photoblocker?

I never heard of that product before. It's an interesting idea, but for our purposes I think it is too retro-reflective. I just wish it was water-based and sold by the quart.

**robert_1967** · **02-14-09, 05:26 PM**

Quote:

custard wrote:

the smallest bead size i can see on the site is 65 microns which is probably larger than what we need.

Smaller beeds than 50 microns? What are you looking for? Glass powder?

50 microns is veeeryy small beed imo. Thats 50 one-million parts of a meter. How large are the beeds you test here in this thread?

**custard** · **02-14-09, 06:00 PM**

the 400 mesh used for sieving of the clear beads would mean they would not be larger than 38 microns.

but mech compared them to his dalite HP sample which reportedly uses 9 micron beads and they looked similar in size under the scope

**mayhem13** · **02-14-09, 10:57 PM**

I think a product that might be of some interest to you guys would be Nano Glass and the like. Here's a link to an interesting Silica Nano powder that can be added to a liquid medium.
http://www.abcnanotech.com/02e_en.php

**Harpmaker** · **02-14-09, 11:39 PM**

Thanks for the link Anthony!

**custard** · **06-10-09, 06:34 AM**

finding a source for the glass beads has been an issue.

a company sent me a sample of the glass beads today which are in the sub 50 micron range.
this material looks like something you would find in an hourglass timer and feels like flour.

i took a photo at an angle with flash on to check whether they retroreflect.
and they do...

**mechman** · **06-10-09, 06:57 AM**

Looks like the stuff we've been looking for custy!

**custard** · **06-10-09, 08:19 AM**

it does look promising Mech.

got a few microscopic images of the material to show.

my microscope has an optical zoom of 20x, and any further magnification is carried out digitally using a sliding scale upto 200x. so i cant say how much zoom has occured between 20x and 200x in an accurate manner. the higher magnifications have some noise/abberation artifacts due to this aswell.

20x

about 50x

about 100x

about 150x

200x

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