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DIY Screen: Komatex and SW Unique Gray

33K views 145 replies 7 participants last post by  Harpmaker 
#1 ·
I thought this forum could use a DIY thread, so here goes.

Komatex 6mm
Sherwin Williams Unique Gray
48"x82" (~90" 16:9 screen)

Couple questions.

1) Which side of the komatex should I paint on?

2) Do I need two coats? If yes, how long do I need to wait before painting the second coat?

I'll update with pics as I make progress...
 
#73 ·
What I have noticed is that the gain of a OTS neutral gray is generally fairly close to the Munsell N value associated with it. I haven't used HCFR in a long time but I know in the past there were some funky readings from it when I was using it. Did you try and use the diffusor facing the pj at all?

Sherwin Williams Extra White ProClassic Smooth Enamel Satin Finish

Any testing done on this this paint? Any recent DIY screen with it?

I am considering this paint, if it turns out that the issue is not the projector lamp and that the gray screen is just a tad too dim for my taste.
Is that the paint recommended by that pjcentral article? If so, I know that Harp did some tests with it. I don't think it was as good as pjcentral thought it was. We'll have to wait for Don to chime in though.
 
#72 ·
Sherwin Williams Extra White ProClassic Smooth Enamel Satin Finish

Any testing done on this this paint? Any recent DIY screen with it?

I am considering this paint, if it turns out that the issue is not the projector lamp and that the gray screen is just a tad too dim for my taste.
 
#76 ·
Sorry to respond so late to this guys, I'm dancing as fast as I can, and that ain't very. I'll pull the data together and start a new thread on the SW ProClassic paint as mentioned in the ProjectorCentral article. Until then the link that Mech gave will show some comparison photos with C&S™ Ultra.

A bit of sad news to report, the SW paints (both 'ProClassic' and 'Color To Go') have visibly changed color away from neutral since they were painted and the photos in the above link taken (about a year ago). Will report on that in the new thread.
 
#79 ·
Nope. :huh: Never heard of Diamond White before. Maybe that's because when it comes to white there is very little difference between any of them. One or two or even three points on the numbers will make very little difference.

The interesting thing about whites is that most of them (if not all) are not neutral. But white is much more forgiving in this aspect when compared to darker paints - it would be more difficult to fix (calibrate) a silver fire than it would to fix a Behr UPW.
 
#84 ·
Uh oh. Which sample is it then? Did I pm the results to someone or post them?

Sometimes I have a tough time keeping track of everything I've measured. :ponder:

So I've measured this paint tinted to Snowfield it looks like. That is a gray. The only white I recall measuring lately was a DIY Theater White Platinum. :scratch:
 
#86 ·
a quick update.

measuring 100% white from the screen i get 30.09cd/m2 (8.782ftL)

measuring 100% white with meter pointed at the projector i get some crazy number like 860ftL. this is the meter at screen point directly against the light output from the projector.
 
#91 ·
ok, i threw up the left over piece of sintra onto my gray screen and took some readings.

ftL jumps from about 8.5 to 13.5; that's a 5ftL increase. made a huge difference in picture, white is actually white and the picture really pops.

i am convinced that gray is a tad too dim for my personal preference.

what would you guys suggest as a WHITE paint? Behr SS or UPW? Perhaps Glidden tinted 'Snowfield'?

or maybe C&S Ultra?

thanks
 
#92 ·
Behr 'Silver Screen' is N8.3, Glidden 'Snowfield' is N8.8 and C&S™ Ultra is N9.2. These are lighter and lighter shades of gray with the 'Snowfield' and 'C&S™ Ultra' appearing to be white unless they are compared directly against a true ultra white paint (which is ~N9.7).

Of the true white paints available I would recommend Glidden Premium #GL9000 (this is a flat finish white tint base). This is the only white paint I have ever measured with my spectrophotometer that was truly color neutral. OK, I just checked and you might have trouble finding this paint, Glidden has introduced their new 'Duo' paint that seems to have replaced the older line of Glidden paints at Home Depot. That is a bummer, but :huh:.

Begin rant
:rant: I find the new wave (started by Behr) of latex paints labeled as being "paint and primer in one" to be deplorable. It is simply a marketing gimmick and is a bald faced lie! While similar in nature, finish paints and primers do different jobs and are made of different materials and should not be mixed together! You will still have to put down at least two coats of paint with the new "all in one" paints, and most likely three. All you are really doing is using a more expensive finish paint as a primer coat (primers are almost always less expensive than finish paints). All the "all in one" paints do is cost you more money and deprive you of using a decent primer if you buy into the ad copy! :rant:
End rant.
 
#93 ·
thanks Harp, what's the latest recipe for CS Ultra? i think that might be my next paint if i don't go with an ultra white.


ps. i painted my sons' bedroom 2 years ago (which is roughly 10x14) and i wasted 3, yes that's 3 gallon of these expensive Behr Ultra premium plus (the paint+primer in one combo). i needed 4 coats in order to cover the previous blue paint. never again will i use these paint+primer paints.
 
#94 ·
thanks Harp, what's the latest recipe for CS Ultra? i think that might be my next paint if i don't go with an ultra white.
There is only one formula for Cream&Sugar™ Ultra. When it was under development I used two Valspar paints as bases (interior flat and interior flat enamel) and chose to go with the same Valspar flat enamel paint we use as the base for Black Widow™.

To summarize the C&S™ Ultra formula (but see the thread for mixing instructions!):
16 fl. oz. (you will have to buy a full quart) Valspar Ultra Premium Interior Latex Flat Enamel Base 1 tinted 115-0.67 (available at Lowe's). Note: this paint is now called Valspar Ultra Premium Interior Super Flat Finish, be sure to use the 'Flat Ultra White' base.
16 fl. oz. Liquitex BASICS 'Silver' acrylic paint (four 4 oz. tubes). This paint is available at most arts and crafts stores such as Michael's and A.C. Moore (be sure to check online for discount coupons). It is also available at great discount from many stores on the internet.

ps. i painted my sons' bedroom 2 years ago (which is roughly 10x14) and i wasted 3, yes that's 3 gallon of these expensive Behr Ultra premium plus (the paint+primer in one combo). i needed 4 coats in order to cover the previous blue paint. never again will i use these paint+primer paints.
Thanks for sharing this! Many people have had the same experience and I think these "paint+primer" paints are going to cost the companies repeat customers. :doh:
 
#96 ·
Understood, but it is pretty simple to mix C&S™ Ultra; the hardest thing to do is to measure out 16 fl. oz. of the Valspar base paint instead of using the whole quart. All of the Liquitex BASICS Silver is used, and then you add at least 8 fl. oz. of water to thin the mix (or more than that if you want to spray). The only other caveat is that the mix needs to be stirred a LOT to break up the BASICS Silver so it goes evenly into solution, but a squirrel cage stirring attachment chucked into a drill will do the job nicely.
 
#97 ·
Harp/Mech, when do you plan on testing these paints?

Sherwin Williams Ultra White
Sherwin Williams Unique Gray
Glidden 450 White

If it's soon, I would love to see results before jumping the gun to paint a new screen. If it's going to be months away, oh well.
 
#98 ·
If I do it would be months. There is very little testing with OTS grays other than checking to make sure it is neutral and checking the gloss level to make sure it doesn't hot spot. And we have most every Munsell N level covered. :huh:
 
#102 ·
Well...there's clearly a difference, but the problem is that its not a straight apples-to-apples comparison when the projector is calibrated to the Gray screen and then a piece of the center is switched with the white portion...the Contrast and Brightness settings have got to be off the charts wrong for the Sintra without a recalibration. That would in turn have the same effect that causes so many TV manufacturers to ship units with badly out of spec color settings...

Ultimately though, whatever makes the viewer happy is the right choice and the right setting in my mind...a perfectly calibrated image that makes people unhappy or gives someone a headache is not worth having if it sucks out the joy of watching it!

Good luck with your continuing adventures...I have settled in with my 8100 on a DIY screen made from Blackout cloth and I am quite happy with the results. I hope you find something that works for you! You may want to give the Black Widow formula a go...I really had no problems with it other than my deformed wall and paint bubble (and truth be told, if the bubble was the only issue, I would have simply made up some more BW and rerolled another couple coats...) The reflective mix worked really well and when I went from the BW to the BOC, I had to RAISE my contrast and brightness settings...

If you want to PM me your address, I might be able to mail you a small sample (maybe 12" x 12"?) of BW painted onto some wall liner (I was thinking about using the wall liner to fix the wall before I decided it would just be easier to build a frame and stretch out a BOC screen instead! During that time, I had cut a strip of wall liner and then applied a coat of BW paint to it, I still have it at the house and it will likely end up being thrown out eventually...)...it would of course have the same calibration problems that putting up white Sintra on a grayscreen has, but you could get a look at it in person before deciding to try or not try it...
 
#103 ·
definitely, i only intended to show the brightness of the sintra (or hopefully a decent white paint).

there's clearly a HUGE drop in terms of contrast, details, and color depth with the sintra.

there's no way that this is meant as an apple to apple comparisons. i almost wish that this gray paint could retain an extra 2-3 ftL and it'd be golden.
 
#105 ·
I hope to get this into the mail on Friday for you...this a picture of the sample I am going to send (BEFORE I painted it)....it is 20" wide (not the 13" I thought) and its cut 54" long, but the paint is only about 45-46". At any rate...let me know once you get it and post pix!



It may be a little hard to get flat, but if you have masking tape it might work OK...
 
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