I've found a place to get glass beads like professional screen use!

[ace3000_1]

heya buddy have u got any prices on this stuff?

Trev

[JTB]

No. Only on the stuff I got the samples of. $15 per 12" x 24". Not cheap I guess.

I'm looking for prices on the paint. And like I said, there's a lot of other forms to get this stuff in. There's fabric too. The samples I have are pretty thick sign material. Almost like thick reflective tape. I assume a thinner fabric for clothing would cost less - and probably be more suitable for our needs.

[ace3000_1]

yeah somthing with like a fine knitted fabric with that stuff in it or on it, ive been thinking about screens latley and i think most of our light loss is the light passing through the material, have u ever had a look at the back of a screen? its a vision on the other side too that shouldnt be there, (im talking diy stuff here) the only light should come from the screen is from the front, so im wondering if we painted another sheet behind our projection screen black or a reflective coating to reflect the image fully forward, (well to help it, the black wouldnt) maybe it would also help our black levels.

Trev

[JTB]

The stuff I have now hanging on my wall is solid. It's not really very heavy either. Mine is 1/8" thick (I think, I don't think I used 1/4"), and I lifted the approx. 5 foot by 4 foot piece onto the wall and held it myself while I screwed it in. I've been calling it fiberboard, but it's really not. It's what you use to do upholstery work. Upholstery board? I bought it to do the interior on a car I was building and I had some left over. It's got a pretty smooth, flat surface and it should take just about any kind of paint you'd want to put on it.

The other possibility, if a perfectly flat surface is really needed, is plexiglass (at least for something up to 4' x 8'). Paint both sides, maybe paint the back flat black and the front with the reflective paint and there you go! I guess top grade plywood could work too.

Look at this: http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html

[Da5id4Vz]

I just saw an interesting demonstration of these screen paints:

www.goosystems.com

It is a little pricey, but interesting to consider.

[JTB]

From what I've read, besides being pricey, their service is questionable.

[Hezz]

Ace3000,

I wonder if that fine white fish aquarium sand would make a good screen. You could make it like sir_vival did by sprinkling a fine layer over a thick wet coat of white paint.

I think that the glass beads that are specifically made for adding reflection to paint are more round in shape. I don't know if the blast media is made to the same standards but it may be the same stuff.

Hezz

[JTB]

From the "military beads" link I posted on page 2:

The modeling media used to simulate snow in both the Environmental Wind Tunnel and the Snow Drift Wind Tunnel is glass beads. These are 85% true spheres with a size range from 10 to 150 microns. The average bead size is 50 to 80 microns.

These beads are ordinarily used as the reflective element in paint used for highway signs. They are also used for bead blasting of machined parts.

Sounds like they're the same thing.

[ace3000_1]

im not sure buddy but ill try somthing with silica sand as soon as i get back to aust, we have the most pure silicon sand in the world right on our beaches just north of perth and its fine like dust, but what ill do is wash it and ill grind it to make it into like a power and maybe mix it into some flatt white paint then give it a very slight cut back to expose the sand through the paint. Ill also be working on a motorised screen soon too so if this works then i can get onto making the motorised screen that will be auto up and down when i turn the projector on and off via the remote.

Trev