Quickie DIY Temp Screen for NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

[Cliff_B]

Hello all!

I finally did it. I finally ordered my first projector. It's not the best, but I definitely know it's not the worst. I know it will work for me and that's what matters. It's a Sanyo PLV-Z1. But that's another story...

Two things have collided in my universe and that is:
1)I should have that projector by Friday
2)My parents big screen has gone in for repair leaving them with a 27" TV

What I plan on doing is taking the projector over to their place on Saturday to watch the NFL Draft in all it's huge glory.

Now my question... They do have white walls, albeit with a crackled type, so I'm wondering what the best method of madness is to put up a quickie temporary screen. I imagine I could either throw a blackout cloth over the entire wall or just use a large white sheet. If there's something else that would be easy and great I'm all ears. I Emailed Mark regarding his 'Softstep Light Absorptive Background' material from Jo-Ann's and am awaiting a response on that one but thought I'd post this up to the community and see what you all think.

What do you think would be the best solution for me? I'm not interested in painting and any frills for this setup as it's only going to be there for the weekend, I may put up black felt around it, but that's not a definite.

Thanks in advance for all the help,
Cliff

 

[Jim Mcc]

Cliff, using a projector to watch the NFL draft? Okee Dokee.
If it's a subtle texture, I would just use the wall to project onto. Otherwise, the cheapest option would probably be a 4'X8'sheet of Parkland Plastics Polywall from Home Depot or Menard's. It's about $13.00. A lot of guys are using it as their permanent screen. Another product about the same price is Doable Board, 4'X8'. Both are white and in the paneling section at Home Depot or Menard's.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I had a 4x8" parkland plastic screen cut to 16x9 (88" diagonal), painted aluminum grey/silver w/ 3" flat borders. It worked great until I moved to a 92" Dalite Model B w/ Video Spectra 1.5 for better performance w/ the lights on (and amazing brightness w/ the lights off). I'd atleast paint a border on whatever you put up, it really makes a difference w/ light spill especially when you have to use keystone correction. I used painters tape and a 3" roller on a mop stick and was able to paint my border in about 20 min for 2 coats.

 

[Cliff_B]

Thanks for the replies!

I know it may seem a little strange sounding like the NFL Draft is that important, but we're a very football oriented family, okay we're sports nuts I admit it. We all get together, have a big meal, and it's pretty much an event for us.

I spent the better part of my evening tonight running around town with my 'cheat sheet' list of things I was looking for. I went to Sears, JCPenney, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and finally Home Depot. My intention was to look at all places taking notes of the different blackout material manufacturers and come back here for more research on which brands were the best. I'd planned on looking for the Poly-Wall at Home Depot as well. I was pretty excited at the beginning of my journey, but somewhere, somehow, I magically found myself cursing profusely towards the end.

Here is my story:

This is the question(s) I posed to my friendly intelligent helpful friends working at these fine facilities. Keep in mind this is not a reflection necessarily of how things are everywhere, just where I live.

"Excuse me Miss/Sir. I'm looking for blackout drapery cloth. This cloth is commonly used to line curtains blocking out unwanted sunlight during the day. For example, persons who have a night job and would like to sleep in the day without having the effects of the bothersome bright light. Do you have any of this material and if so could you please direct me to it?"

Sears- Ummm... Sorry, we don't carry that kind of stuff.

JCPenney- Ummm... what you see hanging is what you've got.

K-Mart- Ummm... you mean blinds? Like venetian blinds?

Wal-Mart- Ummm... blackout what? What you're looking for is black then right?

Home Depot- Ummm... you could try looking by the blinds.

(blank expression on employees face and then...)

"Polywhat?" I was then escorted to a gentleman that did recognize the words Parkland Plastics and found two sheets, both of which I think could be wrong after researching more in the forums.

So to sum that fun filled evening all up, there was a whole lot of "Ummms..." and here I am doing more research.

So to all those guys/gals out there that have had that same exact evening more or less, I just joined your club. I would like my shiny plastic membership card with holographic watermark please.

Hope you all got a grin out of that one.

So here's the plan for Draft Day. Project the image on the wall but have a white sheet as backup. It's a pretty textured wall so I don't know how well it will work.

For my personal screen I plan on building the framed blackout cloth, but to have something to test with immediately I planned on just picking up the Poly-Wall. Who knows, I may like it so much, I may not go the blackout cloth route. So far I've been going through tons of threads trying to figure out which Poly-Wall is the right one to get. I even printed out the label that should be on the back for reference. If I've got it right, it should be (from Home Depot)

Poly-Wall (NOT PLAS-TEX!!)
.060" thick
Bright White
Textured front/Smooth back
46x96 1673 06107

I continue my journey tomorrow... wish me luck!

Thanks,
Cliff

 

[Jeff Meyers]

I'm in the planning stage of a DIY screen. I found blackout cloth / drapery lining at my local Jo-Ann store for about $6 / linear yard. Unfortunately the maximum width is 54" - and I need 53" to 59" width plus probably another 6" to wrap to the back and tack / staple.

Ummmmm . . . good luck.

 

[Cliff_B]

I'll continue my hunt for blackout cloth today. I'll be driving out of town this evening to pick up some of that as well as a PolyWall to try out.

The funny thing was, after calling several Lowes and Home Depots in my area with no one really knowing what I was talking about when I said PolyWall, I finally decided to call Parkland Plastics and they immediately picked up on what I wanted it for without me even stating it.

After I spilled the beans on my intent I asked the gentleman on the line how many calls they've received about that particular product for this application and he just sighed and said...a whole lot...

Is the 72405 the SKU# for the correct PolyWall at Lowes?

 

[Jim Mcc]

Cliff, none of those stores you listed sell blackout cloth, except maybe Walmart. You need to go to a fabric store such as Joann Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics, or any independent fabric store. I don't know if that's the SKU #, but on the back there should be a sticker that says Parkland Plastics. It's pretty thin stuff, 1/8" thick I think. That's why I never used it, you really need to glue it to 1/4" plywood or hardboard first.