Easy-Flex DIY Painted Screen Solution

**Tiddler** · **07-02-07, 05:51 PM**

I have added some update information regarding alternate Behr paints and how they might be used as part of or instead of the basic EasyFlex solution.

**07-03-07, 01:48 AM**

Hi tiddler. Thanks for all your hard work. I, for one, truly appreciate all the experimentation you are going through.

I am trying to set up a DIY painted screen for my Mitsu HD1000. I had my mind set on doing a Easy-Flex-04 with 2 coats of 1xPearl Poly780. (1x because I was afraid 2x would be too challenging to paint for me). Now I see Behr Exterior Primer #438 is comparable to a 2x Pearl Clear coat. Do you think I should do that instead of my original 1xPearl? Room has one small window which can be totally light controlled.

Thanks in advance and keep up the excellent work!!

Danny

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 02:11 AM**

I would caution that I am still looking into the Behr #436 Primer. So far I have had no hot spotting problems but I can't guarantee that it won't. I am also coming up to the Clear Coat Experiments so I can't honestly tell you which pearl product is the best to use yet. I have a couple of questions before we go much further.

What color are the walls, ceiling, and floors in your room?

Are you in a position to apply the tinted Primer now and then add a clear coat in a couple of weeks?

Are you aware that the HD1000 is a very bright projector?

Are there going to be occasions, such as game night with your buddies, when you may want some lights on?

In anticipation of your answers I am thinking that you could prepare the wall or substrate and paint it with the Behr Exterior Primer #436. A quart of paint is usually enough to apply two coats of paint to a 120" screen. Since the P436 is primer I would suggest 3 to 4 coats, to achieve good coverage. That would suggest you need more than a quart, but you may already have primer so here are the tint formulas for a quart and a Gallon:

-------------------------------
Quart Custom Tint
Behr Exterior Primer #436
0 3 0 Lamp Balck
0 1 0 Yellow Oxide
-------------------------------

-------------------------------
Gallon Custom Tint
Behr Exterior Primer #436
0 12 0 Lamp Balck
0 04 0 Yellow Oxide
-------------------------------

I have been using the two roller technique to apply the P436 to my sample panels. It will result in a much smoother finish. Here is the point form description of the two roller method:

You will need a 3/16" or 1/4" fuzzy white roller
You will also need a 6" white foam trim roller
Apply the paint with the fuzzy roller in vertical strips.
Wet the trim roller by rolling on the slope of the paint pan.
Smooth the paint out using the trim roller by . . .
Rolling up and down the full height of the screen.
Work back two strip widths, and return to the leading edge.
Apply next strip with fuzzy roller and blend back into the last strip.
Smooth out the last two strips with the trim roller.
Continuw across the screen repeatin the above application, blending, and smoothing.

I have found the primer to be quite smooth rolling and it levels out quite nicely. If you are prone to overworking the paint then Floetrol may be a good idea. Add it in about a 5-10% concentration. It will extend the wet time considerably. That means you can work the paint longer without the danger of dry rolling.

**07-03-07, 03:00 AM**

What color are the walls, ceiling, and floors in your room?

The wall the screen is has been painted a very deep purple. Looking at it, it pretty much looks just like a flat black. Two feet of the adjacent walls and the ceiling is painted this also.

Are you in a position to apply the tinted Primer now and then add a clear coat in a couple of weeks?

Yes. No problem

Are you aware that the HD1000 is a very bright projector?

IMO I think its pretty bright for its price, but some more expensive pjs are much brighter.

Are there going to be occasions, such as game night with your buddies, when you may want some lights on?

Well, if the lights are on, it will probably be on the other side of a 30 foot long room.

Thanks for the speedy reply!!

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 03:11 AM**

I was just downstairs staring at the sample of P436 I painted yesterday. My gut feeling is that you may have hot spotting problems with such a bright projector. I wish I could say for sure. Worst case scenario you will get hot spotting and then need to apply the matte polyurethane to reduce the sheen. Adding some pearl to keep the gain up would be a good idea too.

A safer alternative would be to go with the Behr Flat Enamel #1850. It has a low luster sheen that makes it brighter then the UPW #1050 but it does not have the same brightness as the UPW #1050 top coated with Behr Matte Polyurethane #780.

If it was me I would probably take a chance on the Behr Primer #436. Then I would setup my pj for dark room high contrast viewing and another setting for ambient light higher lumen viewing. Especially knowing I would likely be top coating down the road.

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 03:20 AM**

You will need to prime the wall anyways because of the dark purple color. It is usually recommended that you tint the primer if trying to cover a dark color. So that means you should go with the tinted Behr Primer #436. Then you have three options after that. Leave it alone if you are happy, top coat with a clear or pearl coat, or just over paint with the Flat Enamel #1850.

Did I mention that I have a habit of thinking out loud as in typing my thoughts as I consider a problem. If I have left you confused let me know.

Take note that I revised the tints in the previous post. The lighter tints will more closely match the UPW tinted:

--------------------------------
Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW #1850 or #1050
0 4 0 Lamp Black
0 1 1 Yellow Oxide
--------------------------------

--------------------------------
Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW #1850 or #1050
0 16 0 Lamp Black
0 06 0 Yellow Oxide
--------------------------------

Let me know what you decide and I will summarize the tints for your choice of paint and gallon or quart. Keep in mind a gallon typically cost twice the price of a quart but is four times as much paint.

**07-03-07, 10:14 AM**

Sup Tiddler,

I like the new digs around here. I got a quick question for you. I'm not sure if you remember my room setup, but you gave me a suggestion previously to go with an Easy 03 mix. I have an Epson 400 at 12.5 ft and my screen will be approx. 92"-96". The walls are kind of a medium tan color. Ceiling is white and the room is 90% light controlled. Well, I bought a piece of plywood (birch) and have applied two coats of Kilz2 primer per your roller instructions. I'm about to start with the FEasy mix, but I noticed that I actually bought the Easy 02 mix. Which is slightly lighter than I was planning on using. I don't know whether the lady at HD didn't hear me or if I actually said the wrong # when I handed her the card with a few of the mixes on there. Regardless, I verified that it is the Easy 02 mix. My projector is set to arrive in a few days and I’m ready to get to painting my substrate. Here are my options:

1) Should I just say with it and go with the 02, even though I may get better performance out of the 03 mix?
2) Should I buy a quart of the 03 mix, put a coat or two of Easy 02 on the screen and then put a top layer (or two) of 03 on top of that (before the poly coat)?
3) Should I just go buy a can and use a can of Easy 03 and ignore the 02 I have?

BTW…I’m going to use the American Traditions Faux Acrylic Flat Latex Clear Protector from Lowes instead of the Behr #780. The HD near me doesn’t carry that Behr Item (the HD near me is pretty worthless). Not sure that would affect anything, but figured I’d throw it out there. Good to see you again and any help is appreciated.

-Square

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 10:37 AM**

Hi Square,

Is it a gallon or quart?

Have you used any? If so how much is leftover?

Is there any evidence of the wood grain in the primed surface?

I had you confused with someone else. I found your room layout:

I remember trying to talk you into the Fashion Gray laminate, Right?

**07-03-07, 11:29 AM**

Quote:

tiddler wrote:

Hi Square,

Is it a gallon or quart?

- Quart

Quote:

tiddler wrote:

Have you used any? If so how much is leftover?

- Haven't used any. Just used two coats of Kilz2 primer

Quote:

tiddler wrote:

Is there any evidence of the wood grain in the primed surface?

- I'll have to check tonight. It was still drying and was getting dark so I didn't stare too close last night. If I had to guess...I'd say maybe a little.

Quote:

tiddler wrote:

I had you confused with someone else. I found your room layout:

I remember trying to talk you into the Fashion Gray laminate, Right?

Yea, you did. Apparently I'm stubborn

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 11:34 AM**

Maybe you are just determined to paint.

You should be able to return to the store and have them add the additional tint.

What does it say on the label?

If you are only going with the flat paint then it will tolerate some imperfections such as grain. If you plan to apply the poly top coat then you should sand the primer, and apply another coat of primer. You will need to do this until the surface is very smooth and no grain or other imperfections are visible.

**Harry Muscle** · **07-03-07, 11:57 AM**

Hi Tiddler, thanks for all the hard work figuring this out. I learned about all of this originally on another forum and fortunately figured out that you moved over here. I was wondering if you could provide some recommendations for me. My Benq W100 projector is showing up in a week or so and I'm getting ready to prepare the screen, etc. It's gonna be located in a 16' x 16' room, the walls are yellow, ceiling is white (low 7' ceiling ... basement). The room is pretty much completely light controlled, however, I don't like sitting in darkness so I would like to be able to watch with the some lights on ... the more the better. I've decided to go with a 80" screen since according to the Calculator on projectorcentral.com (http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ...ulator-pro.htm) anything below ~85" is OK for ambient light situations. I'm gonna be making the screen out of MDF or hardboard so the surface will be perfectly smooth. I'm guessing the normal easy-flex solution (using UPW #1050 + Poly #780) is probably best (unless you recommend something else), however, I'm unsure as to how dark to go. That's what I was hoping you might be able to help with. Please let me know if you need any other info to make a recommendation.

Thanks,
Harry

P.S. In case it matters, I'm planning on running the projector in Econo mode as much as possible to save on bulb life.

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 12:45 PM**

Hey There Harry!

I have found the Projector Central calculator to be a bit on the conservative side. I would go for the biggest screen you can get out of a 4'x8 sheet of the MDF or hardboard. That would be about a 94" screen leaving an inch of material around the edges to attach a border to.

Since you want to go with a fair bit of ambient light I would suggest you consider just using the Behr Flat Enamel #1850. It is not quite as flat as the UPW #1050 and is more durable. I would suggest an EasyFlex tint of 05 or 06.

Easy-Flex-05 Custome Tint
Quart Behr UPW Flat Enamel #1850
0 5 0 Lamp Black
0 2 0 Yellow Oxide

Easy-Flex-06
Quart Behr UPW Flat Enamel #1850
0 6 0 Lamp Black
0 2 1 Yellow Oxide

The reason I am shying away from the poly in your case is the desire to have a fair bit of ambient light. The poly will increase the on axis gain and reflect that light back at you, washing out your image.

You should still be able to use econo mode but a brightness and contrast callibration will be required for dark viewing and ambient light conditions. The Terminator II disk has a nice THX Callibration utility on it. I think it is on the Cars DVD also.

Be aware that if you compare this side-by-side with a white surface it will look like the whites are greyed down. Without doing that sort of sode-by-side the whites will look right. It's all about how the eye and brain work together to reproduce the image in your head.

If you do find the screen is a little to dark, a coat of matte poly will increase the brightness of whites and ading a little Pearl to the top coat will squeeze a little more out of the screen. If your ambient light is cans that don't throw light directly at the screen then the added gain won't be as much of a problem. The white walls and ceiling are goin to create rebound ambient light that will be more likely to fall back on the screen.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you need more info.

Good Luck, and let us know how it goes.

**Harry Muscle** · **07-03-07, 05:02 PM**

Thank you very much for the recommendations. Got one more quick question ... which rolling method would you recommend?

Thanks,
Harry

**07-03-07, 05:07 PM**

You will need to prime the wall anyways because of the dark purple color.

I actually left the screen area unpainted. Only the area surrounding the screen is a deep purple. The screen area at the moment is a very light yellow that has been sanded smooth. So I dont think i need a primer (unless thats what i use as the screen). If I go with the #1850, there is no need for a poly top coat, right?

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 06:01 PM**

Quote:

Harry Muscle wrote:

Thank you very much for the recommendations. Got one more quick question ... which rolling method would you recommend?

Thanks,
Harry

In your case the Basic Roller Painting Instructions will work just fine because the paint is matte.

**Tiddler** · **07-03-07, 06:12 PM**

Quote:

GimliOrcs wrote:

You will need to prime the wall anyways because of the dark purple color.

I actually left the screen area unpainted. Only the area surrounding the screen is a deep purple. The screen area at the moment is a very light yellow that has been sanded smooth. So I dont think i need a primer (unless thats what i use as the screen). If I go with the #1850, there is no need for a poly top coat, right?

The Flat Enamel 1850 is brighter than the UPW but not as bright as the poly top coated flat paint would be. There is no reason why you could not top coat if you are dissatisfied with the flat enamel alone. I would suggest that once you setup the projector properly for brightness and contrast you will be quite pleased with the results. I have observed that the closer to correct color balance the gray is the less improvement you get with the poly top coat. Behr "Silver Screen" for example is way off and therefore you see the greatest improvement when top coated. By starting with the 1850 you are not closing the door on a clear coat of just poly or with some pearl in it.

**Harry Muscle** · **07-04-07, 04:24 PM**

Tiddler, I know this is slightly off topic (laminate screens), but if you have a chance would you mind checking out this post of mine: (http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...html#post41737) and sharing your opinion, etc. if you have any.

Thanks so much,
Harry

**Tiddler** · **07-04-07, 04:32 PM**

Since you have a desire for ambient light tolerance the choices are narrowed down to Fashion Gray and Dove Gray, I think. The real catch is if you have to top coat the laminate with matte poly. If you will have to top coat then you may as well paint the screen. Buy a less expensive substrate material and paint it gray. So the first question is will you have to top coat the laminate?

**Harry Muscle** · **07-04-07, 04:37 PM**

According to the pinned laminate post it sounds like the minority of people have to coat their laminate ... but if I end up being one of those then you are correct I might as well have just started with a painted screen

Btw, would the Fashion Gray or the Dove Gray be closer in darkness to the Easy Flex 05 you recommended for my setup?

Thanks,
Harry

**Tiddler** · **07-04-07, 04:41 PM**

I should add that I have always liked the idea of laminate material as a screen. It's simple and incredibly durable. This material can be rolled up to ship it and will have an extremely uniform surface texture and color.

I keep wondering if there is not a more basic way to reduce the sheen on the Fashion Gray. I have experimented with scrubbing some of my paint panels with an abrasive cleanser. It does take down the sheen. I have not managed to get anyone to try it on a laminate yet though. Then the toughness of te laminate would be preserved.

**Tiddler** · **07-04-07, 04:43 PM**

Quote:

Harry Muscle wrote:

Btw, would the Fashion Gray or the Dove Gray be closer in darkness to the Easy Flex 05 you recommended for my setup?

Thanks,
Harry

I really don't know because I have not seen the Fashion Gray laminate. Wbassett may be able to compare them by the RGB values though.

**Harry Muscle** · **07-04-07, 04:48 PM**

There's a scanned image of the different colors of laminate on this post (http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...html#post28509). I know it's a scanned copy and it depends on how your monitor will dispaly it, etc. but which one would you say matches Easy Flex 05 best?

Thanks so much for all the help so far,
Harry

**Tiddler** · **07-04-07, 05:16 PM**

The only RGB numbers I have are :

218 212 220 EasyFlex-04
210 204 212 EasyFlex-06
204 199 205 EasyFlex-08

This would suggest it is lighter than Fashion Gray and Gray laminate. However that is only the color balance. The laminate material may indeed be a more efficient reflector than a painted surface.

What I do know is I paint DR.Doom's screen with an EasyFlex-06 and it looked great even before we put the poly top coat on it. Unless you have a very bright projector I would not go darker than EasyFlex-06. The flat enamel 1850 performs quite well compared to the poly top coated UPW.

Here are pictures with a panel painted with Behr UPW Flat Enamel #1050 hanging in front of my retractible screen which is painted with an EasyFlex-06 and top coated with poly. The difference is not huge but it is visible.

I, like wbassett, have found that being close to neutral makes a big difference. After that the top coats don't have as dramatic an improvement. The color balance being right seems to be the most crucial consideration. Just take a look at some of wbassett's screen shots of Gray Screen with ambient light. Thes screen shots easily rival any of the mixes I've seen.

Maybe wbassett has a piece of Fashion Gray he put up against his Gray Screen painted screen.

**Tiddler** · **08-13-07, 10:16 PM**

I will soon be creating an updated version of this thread that incorporates the results of the Behr Sheen Experiments and the Pearl Clear Coat Trials.

**rufinatti** · **08-16-07, 02:02 PM**

Very interesting work, Tiddler. My first question, thus far (I'm sure there will be others later), is this: does this method require being rolled, or can the paint be sprayed on. If so, what technique should be used? Would the paint have to be thinned?

Thanks for your hard work and insight.

-robert

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