painting wall/screen question

FYI. I'm looking at Kilz premium primer.

Is the fabric covering the entire surface of the wall in question, or is it just strips? Often, the seams in drywall are taped with what looks like an open mesh tape, since this helps the spackle stick and hold a shape.

As for priming and projecting onto the primer until you decide on a top coat, that shouldn't matter. In fact, it's entirely possible that you'll be just fine with the Kilz primer and decide not to put a top coat on at all.

Thank you so much for your response.

The whole panel is covered with the mesh/cloth. Nearest I can find with googling is that it's some kind of acoustic panel. Though it's not quite a perfect match to that either. It's a modular home wall, so construction is probably as cheap as they could get away with I'm sure. The fabric acoustic panels are expensive, so that puzzles me. I did buy used and the original owner was an avid Diy'er and made many modifications elsewhere.

I did go ahead and paint the wall with the primer after I got off work with Kilz premium primer. I had wondered what Hot spotting was that I had read about happened with too glossy a paint. I watched a movie after freshly painting the wall and saw really quickly what it was. I could literally see it fade away as the paint dried. This had the added bonus of when asked what I did last night of being able to say "watched paint dry" :grin2:

I've spent a lot of time watching paint dry...

I don't really have any of those issues, as my screen is a DIY 85" where I used 1/4" melamine-coated MDF. Turns out, the melamine surface is just about the right amount of reflective and a neutral enough shade of white that it satisfies my needs while being extremely inexpensive.

I'm not certain how neutral the Kilz primer is... but if it looks good to you, that's all that matters. I just read through an article on Projector Central about DIY paint screens. They apparently got good results with Sherwin Williams ProClassic Smooth Enamel in Satin, and using the base white with no tint. Measured against a Studiotek 100, they claim image resolution is similar, with a 1.1 Gain, and slightly better black levels. I imagine "your mileage may very" applies here.

Can't remember right now if i have seen Kilz's measurement, but, considering the fact that is a white primer (white ''color'' is the most forgiving in terms of neutrality), i believe that it will be quite neutral (from 6300K-6800K). So, i see no problem using it as a main screen. They were claims in the past that many manufacturers were using just primed walls as their reference screen to test the units.

Thanks for the info. The primed white wall is doing well. Still see some of the texture behind it. I'm on my 4th coat and letting it dry for a couple of days between coats to give it a chance to cure. I'm no painter, but the image improves a little with each more coat. The missus is happy and that's the main thing. There is some "blurring on the image , I think it's cause by the texture. Going to look around for MDF with melamine coating as that sounds like it may be a good alternative. Can more than one 8 x 4 sheet be merged without a seam? My image is currently 96" x 54" , so a single sheet wont cover it all.

Don't think that blur thing is caused by primer or your wall. Can you give us a little more info about your projector? (brand, model, lamp hours)

Why not buy a screen? A wall will never compare unless you spend very significant time making it perfect and then buy very specialized screen paint that is likely more expensive for a gallon than the cost of a screen like Silver Ticket.

It's a entry level (at least for me) projector. Brand was sold as generic and LED 86W is the only identifier I've found on it. I've been searching for compatible active shutter glasses and I've found that the LED86 is not a good distinguishing mark.

My son discovered that some of the settings I had adjusted to electronically reduce the screen size had caused some of the blur and my 20 something son managed to show me up in setup of this projector.

I've really been keeping track of the cost factor. I'm really thinking I'm going to live with the paint wall and finish out the gallon of paint for now. I think I'll give the silver ticket lot more consideration before I spend anymore. It's not a waste though as the wall was needing fresh paint anyways.

Thank you all for the help.

You're welcome. Maybe if you post a photo of it someone on here will know what it is. Probably not me, but somebody might.

Texturing will definitely affect picture quality... the smoother the surface, the better. Blurring is more likely either a processing issue, or an optical issue with the projector itself, but something like the orange-peel texture of a residential interior wall will create tiny shadows where there aren't supposed to be any (especially at the edges of the screen) and will also reflect light back at silly angles instead of where it's supposed to go. The net effect is a degraded image.

Check out this article from Projector Central: http://www.projectorcentral.com/paint_perfect_screen_$100.htm
The short version is you can buy an un-tinted base white paint and get a perfectly acceptable screen. It also describes a reliable procedure for painting the wall so you get good results, not just from the paint itself, but so that you end up with nice clean lines and surfaces.

Im not painting my wall anymore. I'm currently using kabuki drops set-up. exceptionally easy-to-use Curtain Drop System and the wide selection of parts can be configured to meet your exact event requirements. I got my materials here https://www.drapekings.com/electro-kabuki-ek2-system/

DqMcClain said:

Texturing will definitely affect picture quality... the smoother the surface, the better. Blurring is more likely either a processing issue, or an optical issue with the projector itself, but something like the orange-peel texture of a residential interior wall will create tiny shadows where there aren't supposed to be any (especially at the edges of the screen) and will also reflect light back at silly angles instead of where it's supposed to go. The net effect is a degraded image.

Check out this article from Projector Central: http://www.projectorcentral.com/paint_perfect_screen_$100.htm
The short version is you can buy an un-tinted base white paint and get a perfectly acceptable screen. It also describes a reliable procedure for painting the wall so you get good results, not just from the paint itself, but so that you end up with nice clean lines and surfaces.

Click to expand...

Sorry to revive this, DqMcClain, but as I have a similar question I'd like to know - which paint to use? As I've checked an article from projectorcentral, it seems that they've banned Sherman Williams. And there was no updates since 2018. Now I'm looking for other budget friendly options and stuck upon SmarterSurfarces. Have somebody tried it? Couldn't find any feedback and has been wondering, whether this or any other options from their list are working.
As for now, the wall I'm planning to re-do is pure white (just in case).
Thanks in advance, gents.

ravnis said:

Extreme newbie question here. Will there be any long term bad effects if I paint primer on my wall to use as a screen and then repaint it later when I learn enough and acquire a good paint/paint mix for the actual screen? I'm thinking of rolling it on. 1/4" nap seems to be a recommended roller. I'm not opposed to sanding and have sanded some of the texture off to find the wall is some kind of fabric/knit type pattern that I guess they just painted over. I'm not sure what material the wall is other than it's not a Sheetrock unless they started covering it with cloth.
I think I would spray the final coat when I get to that point and can keep from spraying onto furniture. I have a wagner airless paint sprayer, but I've only used it to paint a barn and the finish was not demanding at all.

Click to expand...

This may be a bit more labor intensive, but installing actual sheetrock in the size of your screen would be the best way to achieve the best long term results.
Float it with tape & bed mud, then sand it until the surface is as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Apply no less than two coats of Kilz primer, maybe even three coats.
Then sit back, and enjoy the show.
When you are ready and decide what final finish you really want, to match up with your projector, go here: https://paintonscreen.com/

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