My DIY Screen

**tonyvdb** · **02-10-08, 06:30 PM**

Well due to my limited budget I decided to give an idea a try.
As some of you have seen here, I simply painted my 96" screen onto a wall using Behr "silver screen" that I built. I really was not happy with it although it worked. Recently after reading the great posts about using aluminum paint mix I was curious as to what I could do on a budget.
I went to my local Home Depot and picked up a 946ml can of Behr Ultra Pure White Flat finish (#1050) and 458ml bottle of Metallic silver (#743) that is located in the crafting area of the paint display.
After trying two different mixes I finally decided to just mix both together 100% so an entire can of the white mixed with the entire bottle of silver.
I painted the screen and waited for it to dry for about 6 hrs. I then tried two movies and to my joy the picture was MUCH better. The blacks were far better and the whites seemed to be just as goos as before maybe even better. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have only done half the screen and done a side by side test but of course my brain was not working

I will just say that it did make a very noticeable difference compared to what I had. If any one wants to actually do a side by side test to see if I am on to something that may not be a bad idea but for me it really made the contrast better and the color seems to be even better.

**Mike P.** · **02-10-08, 06:42 PM**

Glad it worked out for you Tony. For what you put into it, it's a cheap upgrade that works!

**Prof.** · **02-10-08, 07:14 PM**

That is a LOT of silver in the mix (2:1)..What is the viewing cone like?

**tonyvdb** · **02-11-08, 10:16 AM**

Its really even, I was actually surprised. I thought I would have issues but from what I see there is no hotspot or dimming of the image on the sides. Viewing angle is good as I can see no difference even when sitting in the farthest left or right seats. My projector is not very bright (800) but it looks great.

**cynical2** · **02-11-08, 05:15 PM**

I'm glad you've got something that you're happy with, Tony! At the end of the day, that's what matters most. I'm a bit surprised that there are no hot-spotting or viewing cone issues. A couple of questions:

Do you have any idea how dark it is (perhaps by comparing to a known neutral)?
Do you see any red/blue push?

It would be interesting to get some spectro readings on it, at a minimum. Any chance you can send mech a small sample (can be as small as 2"x2")?

A couple of other requests that will help us better understand screen characteristics:

Can you take a flash camera shot of the screen from 6-8' away?
Can you take some screenies of a couple of movies (light scenes, dark scenes, colors)?

Jim

**tonyvdb** · **02-11-08, 05:25 PM**

Quote:

cynical2 wrote:

Do you have any idea how dark it is (perhaps by comparing to a known neutral)?

I can do that, what would be a good neutral?

Quote:

Do you see any red/blue push?

Blue looks bang on however the red may be a little hot but that may just be my settings on the projector.

Quote:

It would be interesting to get some spectro readings on it, at a minimum. Any chance you can send mech a small sample (can be as small as 2"x2")?

I dont think I have any left but I will look tonight.

Quote:

A couple of other requests that will help us better understand screen characteristics:

Can you take a flash camera shot of the screen from 6-8' away?
Can you take some screenies of a couple of movies (light scenes, dark scenes, colors)?

Jim

I will post some tonight if I have some time.

**cynical2** · **02-11-08, 05:55 PM**

Quote:

tonyvdb wrote:

I can do that, what would be a good neutral?

Blue looks bang on however the red may be a little hot but that may just be my settings on the projector.

I dont think I have any left but I will look tonight.

I will post some tonight if I have some time.

Great, thanks!

The best thing to do would be to look at easyRGB.com for the brand of your choice. Do you have a Sherwin Williams near you? If so, you could go by and bring home some paint chips from there (that are close to neutral to your eye) over a range of shades. Then, let us know which is closest in color to your screen.

If you're able to send a sample to mech, then there's no need to try to get an idea of shade (and you can ignore the above). Mech can give you an exact color when he measures it.

Looking forward to your pics!

**Prof.** · **02-11-08, 06:11 PM**

Quote:

cynical2 wrote:

Looking forward to your pics!

Me too...That's amazing that you don't have any viewing cone issues or any hot-spotting!!
The lower lumen projector could be the reason for no hot-spotting, but shouldn't have any effect on the viewing cone though..

**tonyvdb** · **02-13-08, 11:20 AM**

Ok, Here is a photo as requested. I had the camera directly below my projector at about 10ft from the screen. The room was totally dark with no lights other than the camera flash.

Does this look ok to you guys?

**Prof.** · **02-13-08, 06:11 PM**

It looks very good actually...There doesn't seem to be any hot-spotting from the flash at all..
Quite remarkable really, considering the amount of silver in the mix..

A couple of screenshots would be good to see...

**tonyvdb** · **02-13-08, 10:54 PM**

Here is a shot from the Movie Night at the museum. Remember my projector is only a Sanyo Z2 720p so the picture quality may not be as good as what some of you are used to.

**cynical2** · **02-14-08, 03:23 AM**

Thanks for the pics, Tony! Screen uniformity looks great on the flash shot.

I'm really not trying to make a ton of work for you...but to my knowledge you're the only one that's used this mix. By chance, do you have any painted test panels, BOC, etc that you could place over a portion of the screen for side-by-side comparison?

Also, have you calibrated your pj settings since making the new screen?

**tonyvdb** · **02-14-08, 10:20 AM**

I simply have not had the time. I may try to do it tonight but things have been so busy lately I was lucky just to have the time to take the pictures I have

I don't have any paint left that I used but it was Behr Ultra Pure White Flat finish (#1050) and 458ml bottle of Metallic silver (#743) that is located in the crafting area of the paint display

**cynical2** · **02-14-08, 10:48 PM**

No problem Tony, whenever you get to it would be great. If anyone else decides to try your mix, hopefully they can make a sample to be tested by mech.

**DavidHawke** · **08-13-09, 10:29 AM**

Can you clarify please....
Is the "Metallic Silver #743" a Behr Product? Or another brand?

My local Home Depot has a silver Behr Product called "Luminoso". However, I have mixed it with UPW, and it fails to sparkle at all (like Craft Smart Silver does).

Did the #743 definitely sparkle through the mix.... or did it just turn the white paint a shade of gray?

**tonyvdb** · **08-13-09, 11:24 AM**

It was not a Behr product but is sold at Home depot in the crafting paint spot and is in a grey plastic bottle. It does not sparkle as it is not supposed to unless you look really closely it just makes the white more grey with a bit of a reflective sheen look.

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