Paint for "screen" wall (1 Viewer)

[George V]

What is the best paint (or material) to use on new drywall that will have primer on it? This wall will be used as the "screen." I need something that is economical and provides good results. Probably use a DLP...

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I hate hopping up on a sandbox but why are you considering paint vs. a real screen? Is it purely economical?

 

[George V]

Good question...

Two main reasons,
1. The room is small and the construction of a hanging screen would be dificult and consume space. Or a portable screen would be a pain to set up/take down continually.
2. The room is a gameroom/HT room. At times the room would be used for table tennis or such. I need to conserve as much space as possible and it seems the wall "screen" would do this nicely...

Hope that clarifies...

 

[Jon Bell]

I used Behr (Home Depot) "Silver Screen" paint over metallic silver.

2 coats primer
2 coats metallic silver
2 coats SIlverscreen (it's really a light grey)

I use a Sanyo Z-2 projector, and it looks great. There are several other formulas that people have used here if you want to spend the time and money. Do a search here or at AVS Forum for Goo and Mississippi Mud.

 

[Matthew Cook]

I am a theater manager and have just completed a out door theater. I did tons of research on this topic. First off go to a real paint store not walmart types. Get a white paint with the highest amounts of titanium. I know it sounds weird but that is what most people use for drive ins and such. That is what I used I had a dalite screen and switched to this paint idea and came up with a better picture quality over all.

 

[Wes]

I am using Behr Ultra Pure White for my LCD!

Wes

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I have a friend that has a similar room. He used paint for a while and then built a soffitt and hid a motorized screen in it. When the screen is up, you have no idea it's there and the room can be used for non-movie activities with no risk of damage to the screen, and no wasted space. It's worth thinking about for a long term plan.

 

[TeddM]

Not as cheap as Behr paint but for a DIY screen that can compete with the best commercial screens, use "Goo Paint". wwwdotgoosystemsdotcom. (under fifteen posts here so substitute "dot" with ".") Crt white works very well with dlp pjs and the light digital grey version is another possibility.

 

[Glenise]

Behr ultra pure white flat converted to Behr gray tropics flat.

 

[Cees Alons]

Neil Joseph was looking for a "grayhawk-lookalike" and found a paint he's very happy with. The stuff he found was in spray cans, and some people wonder if an amateur can do that evenly enough. Read that thread!

BTW, I'm going to give that solution a very serious try myself. A big advantage would be that the construction of a variable mask (on all sides) wouldn't have to be too complicated that way.

(And, Jay, a painted or sprayed wall is a 'real' screen! )


Cees

 

[Travis_R]

I was also going to recommend the Behr Silver Screen paint, have heard alot of good things about it

 

[TeddM]

Locally we have a large event once a year called the The Great Canuck Shootout that featues many projectors and many screens, both commercial and DIY solutions. One of the lasting impressions I got from last year's Shootout2 was just how little spread there is in picture quality in various commercial screens and the (better quality) DIY solutions. The other lasting impression was how big a jump in quality the new digitals have made in the last year. On the high end of the demonstrated screens was a Silverstar and a Studiotek 130 and on the lower end was a Carada Brillient White 1.4 screen with many screens at various pricepoints in between. One of the superior performers to catch people's attention last year was the two DIY Goo Screens (light digital grey and the crt white). That meet offered a very unusual opportunity to test screens side by side, in a blacked out room with a BenQ 8700 and a 8700+ used in the comparisons.

If one doesn't wish to mess with mixing and experimentation of various paints, then Goo is a very affordable, ready to paint, two part paint solution. I'm not sure why this very useful bit of DIY'er information isn't acted upon more often. The thread Cees referred to, had someone mention Goo Systems Paint without a single question about it. I often see some of these DIY exerimenters spend far more in inexpensive paints then Goo Paint would have cost them in the first place. I am all for DIY and my room features many high yield DIY projects to keep quality high, and costs in check, but occassionally I find myself blinded to the real costs of DIY and often never take into account my time, energy or the true costs of numerous trips back and forth to the local Home Depots.