DIY Painted Screen

[Swampy]

G'day All,

I'm going to be getting an HP MP3220 projector for my travels with work and thought I'd use this opportunity to start a Home Theatre. I'm thinking about painting a piece of MDF rather than the wall. I'm planning on trying Misty Evening Gray and then if that doesn't work well trying Goo. Any advice? How do you think it will work?

Thanks!

[Andrew Pratt]

Misty evening is a good start. Make sure you take your time and prime the MDF first with a high quality white primer and sand it smooth. You're likely to get a better coat with a sprayer vs a roller but I rolled my screen and it worked fine...it just takes practice to get it smooth and even.

In case you're interested here's the paint mix I used...

Ok Guys here's what I did. Its based on the DDog paint mix that was all the rage on AVS...

1. Paint the screen with a pure white paint.

2. Paint the screen with a top coat of the following mix.


50% Behr Silver Metalic - available at home depot in the Behr faux pain section.
40% Glaze
10% Behr pure white


As for tips what worked for me was to keep working a wet edge. By that I mean you don't need to apply a lot of paint with each pass so roll out the paint on your tray before applying it to the screen then keep rolling over the area you left off on and slowly work your way around the screen so that you are keeping a wet edge...doing that should allow you to avoid roller marks. Other then that take your time and it'll take a few coats to get a nice even finish. Basically painting pure silver is a pain in the arshe but adding the white really helps to make it easier. Spraying is likely best but it can be done with a roller if you take your time and the results are amazing. As I said the only screen sample I have that I think beats my DDog screen enough to consider buying is firehawk and unless I win the lottery that isn't going to happen

[RobP]

Did you guys know that they actually make screen paint? I own a movie theatre maintenance company and we have had theatre owners use it to try to restore old screens. I wonder if it would work for your application?

[Andrew Pratt]

Possibly. Most theatres are still using CRT projectors which have quite different screen requirements then our digital PJ's. Still it might be fun to try it and see how it compares.

[Swampy]

DDOG screen

Hi Andrew,

I've decided to give your DDOG screen paint mix a try. Home Depot had a sell on Behr paint so I thought what the heck?

Do you know what the gain of this mix is?

Thanks,

Swampy

[Azeke]

Swampy,

Here is a DIY screen consideration, if you are somewhat handy.

Check out this URL, you don't have to buy directly from them, I believe Home Depot/Lowe's carries the material (if you can find it). I've also heard it works pretty well and is a very inexpensive solution.

DIY Screen material

or you can purchase directly from them, they recently put the screen selling information on their website after hearing so many successful stories.

PLAS-TEX™ Home Theatre Screens. Two sizes. Shipped within 48 hours. Call 800.835.4110 and order yours today.

Just another consideration.

Good luck whichever option you chose :T ,

Azeke

[Swampy]

DDog paint mix by Andrew

I went with Andrew's paint mix using Behr paints. It took quite a while to sand all the texture off of my wall but the results are very good. I am very pleased. I had a bunch of guys over for the NCAA finals and they were blown away!

Thanks Andrew!

[PMazz]

An alternative to paint that I'm playing with is laminate. You can get it in a rainbow of colors and a matte finish seems ideal fr a screen. I've played with different shades of gray and some off whites so far with excellent results.

Pete