[Guest]

Hi,

Would appreciate some advice on painting a screen for a classroom.

We have an old 100" Boardroom, about 26 YO. In lieu of replacing it at about 3k, we're considering painting a screen wall. The wall is 16' x 9' with two tall narrow windows on either side with blinds. The rooms lights can be dimmed or the front lights near the screen turned off. The room would not be dark, but lit for students.

The instructors are wanting the entire wall painted with no edges or boarders. Question here is are boarders all that important for a classroom environment? We're only viewing PowerPoint slide shows and Excel spreadsheets, no movies. I suggested boarders but they would prefer not to.

From what I've read regarding screen colors, Gray's vs. Whites. "Gray's" for ambient and "White" for dark rooms. In this application would it really matter which color was chosen?

The current projector is a XD1000U, I also have an Optoma EP910 available. So the lumens shouldn't be an issue, except for hot spots maybe.

Any suggestions would really be appreciated.
Thanks
Bob

 

[cynical2]

Welcome to the Shack! You've come to the right place! Bill, Todd, and mech will take care of you and I will...continue to learn.

 

[mechman]

Hi,

Would appreciate some advice on painting a screen for a classroom.

We have an old 100" Boardroom, about 26 YO. In lieu of replacing it at about 3k, we're considering painting a screen wall. The wall is 16' x 9' with two tall narrow windows on either side with blinds. The rooms lights can be dimmed or the front lights near the screen turned off. The room would not be dark, but lit for students.

The instructors are wanting the entire wall painted with no edges or boarders. Question here is are boarders all that important for a classroom environment? We're only viewing PowerPoint slide shows and Excel spreadsheets, no movies. I suggested boarders but they would prefer not to.

Borders shouldn't matter in a classroom situation.

From what I've read regarding screen colors, Gray's vs. Whites. "Gray's" for ambient and "White" for dark rooms. In this application would it really matter which color was chosen?

The current projector is a XD1000U, I also have an Optoma EP910 available. So the lumens shouldn't be an issue, except for hot spots maybe.

Any suggestions would really be appreciated.
Thanks
Bob

I'd go with a light gray something close to a N9 on the Munsell scale. Read post number 5 of this thread. It has several options to choose from and explains the Munsell system. What's the easiest paint store to get to?

mech

PS. Welcome to the Shack Bob! :dancebanana:

 

[Guest]

mech

I was reading that post when I got a notice of your reply. I now have a better understanding of the Gray vs White. The Gray I believe would serve two purposes, one the light issue and another as being an accent wall when the projector isn't being used.

There's quit a few stores available here, plenty of HD's, Lowes, Sears, and then there's always the internet. The price per gallon is not an issue and I would not be shy to ordering a gallon or 2 of the N8 from RP Imaging.

One of my main concerns was how the class would perceive an unframed image. But feel more comfortable now. Due to another problem not mentioned, the instructors may need to go the the Optoma EP910 with a 1400x1050 resolution. The text in some of the PP shows is rather small and their wanting to increase the screen size, with no frame, the walls the limit.

 

[Sthrndream]

Since you have a Home Depot near by, you could go with a Gallon of Behr "Sterling" 780E mixed up in the Flat Enamel #1850. For a little closer to neutral gray tint here is a custom tint formula:

================
Gallon Custom Tint
Behr UPW Flat Enamel #1850
0 20 0 Lamp Black
0 08 0 Yellow Oxide
================

A better quality Behr paint that is self priming, more uv resistant, and levels out nice and smooth is the new Behr Premium ULTRA Exterior UPW Flat #4850. The near neutral tint formula is the same.

 

[mechman]

Todd is our resident Behr expert when it comes to Home Depot and, as always, gives great advice. A couple others are True Value (the hardware store) 1983 Winter Mist and Sherwin Williams SW 7071 Gray Screen. The Gray Screen is closer to a N8 shade and the Winter Mist is a bit more towards the N9. Todd has the RGB data for some of his Behr formulas in the EasyFlex thread (Is that one of the EasyFlex formulas Todd?). What you should be looking for, as I'm sure you've already read, is something neutral. If you look at the Red, Green and Blue numbers they should be even across the board. If there are any dips they should be in the Green numbers. Most professionally made screens have slight dips in their green numbers.

So basically it boils down to what is the easiest for you to acquire. There is also a great thread on DIY Painting, which includes some considerations for wall preparation on rough walls. Between Bill and Todd they can help with any questions regarding rolling the wall and how many coats (I'd guess two :whistling. With all that info I'd think you could tackle it easy enough.

 

[Guest]

Hi

Thanks, will check out HD in the morning. With this info and our professional painter I'm sure this is going to work out well. The walls are in excellent condition as is our painter.

I did try and find the N8 in RP Imaging, didn't have any luck there. Did locate their site but no mention of the paint.

Will keep you posted as how it turns out.

Thank you all for a great night of discovery!!

Bob

 

[wbassett]

Welcome to the Shack!

The main thing for classrooms and board rooms is ambient light conditions. Although you're not concerned about video and improved perceived CR, gray will still help with ambient lighting.

I agree with what everyone has recommended, and a border isn't a necessity or as important for classroom presentations. You could paint the window trim a dark gray which would look nice with a gray wall, if they are windows with frames. If it's a newer office building with caseless windows than that's not an option.

Looks like everyone jumped in and has you well on your way!

Make sure to take some shots of the room when it's done, it will be interesting to see a conference/class room DIY setup.

 

[mechman]

Bob,

Your very welcome! And as Bill said, take some pictures for us! We'd love to see the finished product!

mech

 

[wbassett]

If you really want GTI's N8 you can order it directly from them.
http://www.gtilite.com/
They don't have it listed, but if you call and ask for it they will know what you are talking about, or here is the link on RP Imaging's site.
http://www.rpimaging.com/store/PID123

Kenyee has used this for his screen, and it works well but if you want to save money True Value has an N8 and an N9 (Winter Mountain and Winter Mist) that are also neutrals and cost a fraction of the price, or you can check into Todd's Behr tint mixes. Either way it will save you a bundle and make lots of bean counter's happy!

 

[Guest]

Bob,

Your very welcome! And as Bill said, take some pictures for us! We'd love to see the finished product!

mech

Hi

Sorry for not getting back to this earlier. Been a bit bust.

After the first wall was done, they liked it so much that the other instructors also wanted it. Now working on the forth room.

Tried the formula's for Bhyr products, did a room with a Eggshell finish Low shine, worked well. Also, I didn't use the Poly due to if it didn't work out it would have been extremely hard to remove and paint over.

Otherwise, the instructors are happy!!

One other point, I recently moved into a house that had the family room wall done in a beige colored faux finish. If you look closely at the wall it has a beige base with what appears to be a Walnut stain glaze over it. One day I brought a projector home to determine distance settings for a small team room and just tried it on the wall to do measurements. Well, the image blew me away. Whatever glaze is on the wall does well with projectors. The image quality is bette then any screen I've ever installed. I brought this up with the instructors and mangers but they were reluctant to try due to "patch ability" in the future.

Question here is "has anyone tried this approach?" with the faux finishes.

I'll try and get some pictures up soon on the rooms done so far.

regards.......

 

[cynical2]

Hi

Sorry for not getting back to this earlier. Been a bit bust.

After the first wall was done, they liked it so much that the other instructors also wanted it. Now working on the forth room.

Tried the formula's for Bhyr products, did a room with a Eggshell finish Low shine, worked well. Also, I didn't use the Poly due to if it didn't work out it would have been extremely hard to remove and paint over.

Otherwise, the instructors are happy!!

One other point, I recently moved into a house that had the family room wall done in a beige colored faux finish. If you look closely at the wall it has a beige base with what appears to be a Walnut stain glaze over it. One day I brought a projector home to determine distance settings for a small team room and just tried it on the wall to do measurements. Well, the image blew me away. Whatever glaze is on the wall does well with projectors. The image quality is bette then any screen I've ever installed. I brought this up with the instructors and mangers but they were reluctant to try due to "patch ability" in the future.

Question here is "has anyone tried this approach?" with the faux finishes.

I'll try and get some pictures up soon on the rooms done so far.

regards.......

Glad things worked out well for you!

To answer your question...a lot of experimentation has been done on all types of paints & finishes, from craft paints to metallic paints to faux finishes. Occasionally, someone claims to make a breakthrough via using these more "interesting" ingredients. However, when these solutions are put side-by-side with a true neutral off-the-shelf paint, it typically fares no better (and oftentimes worse) than the simple neutral grey.

One thing that some of the finishes can add, that a flat paint doesn't, is a bit of gain (reference the "Gain and other confusing topics" sticky). Gain is a useful thing, under some circumstances, but it comes at a cost...the DIY finishes that give gain often result in hot-spotting and/or color-shift. And, gain is always at the expense of viewing cone.

Some people like the look of a high-gain screen that will "blow you away", but what they don't realize is that they have hot-spotting and inaccurate colors. At the end of the day, they are the ones watching the screen, so they should do what they want. However, on this forum, we are very strong advocates for neutral screens that reproduce the image as intended. If a screen with more gain can be obtained while maintaining that neutrality, then it becomes promising. But, when measurements are taken on these high-gain mixes, that's rarely been the case.

 

[mechman]

What Jim said! :T:T

One thing to add regarding gain is that with how projectors are advancing, I'd think it would be a thing of the past soon! If not already. :dunno:

mech