Paint Type / Colour For A Home Theatre Room?

[lonewolf1503560131]

Hey guys,

I have been given permission to convert the garage into a HT room. I have some people coming over to do some mods and paint the room. Is there any type of specific paint or colour i should be aiming for? It will have a projector as well as a TV in there. I was told generally dark colours are good as something about they make the projector image look brighter? Is there a specific type i should also aim for? Probably will be going to Masters / bunnings in an hour to purchase it.

[apgood]

Rosco supersaturated velour black paint is what you want. (See bottom of the page -- http://www.ozts.com.au/technical.html)

Only thing better is to use black velvet around projector screen and first metre or so of side walls.

As the paint is really thick it is meant to be diluted and you get more coverage from 1 litre than you would from other paints.

Edited May 28, 2016 by apgood

[roachy]

I actually have a 4 litre tin of the Rosco left over from my build. As mentioned it is concentrated and the minimum dilution is 1:1 with water so is good for at least 8 litres. I was able to do 2 very thick coats of 4 walls and a ceiling of a room 4.0 x 4.7 x 2.7m from one tin and still had some left over from that tin.

With the lights on it is a very dark matte grey (as opposed to an inky black) but with the projector on and the lights out it is a real batcave. The matte finish helps reduce reflections.

[lonewolf1503560131]

Thanks for the advice guys, what do people feel about colouring the skirting on the ceiling. The skirting on walls / floor connection is white and looks quite nice i think with black paint walls and white skirting. I was wondering if my ceiling and walls were black, maybe it would be good to also have the skirting on the ceiling to be white so it will sort of match the white skirting on the floor....? what do you guys think? So then the ceiling and walls are black and the skirtings both at the top and bottom of the walls are white so it sort of provides a nice contrast.

Questions was can a small area like the skirting area on the ceiling still negatively affect the visual advantages of a dark wall / ceiling for a Home Theatre room? As in i know the dark colour is meant to absorb and not reflect light etc, but then would the white skirting affect it even though its quite a small portion?

P.S I have noticed that matte walls really do scuff very easily

[hopefullguy]

my ht room has red wine coloured walls, charcoal grey ceiling and satin bone skirting.. my friend hates the skirting colour as he says he notices it all the time.. he is bonkers! we sit 3m from my 123" screen with a benq w1070 pj.. you would be surprised at how much light there is at 3m seating but if i sit in my 2nd row at 4m it is much less noticable. the important thing is the ceiling colour and the area behind the screen.. as long as the skirting is a matt or satin it will be fine.

yes matt walls etc show up finger prints etc but not a biggy... my red wine walls look really nice in the darkened room but they are one level off matt.

[709er]

Thanks for the advice guys, what do people feel about colouring the skirting on the ceiling. The skirting on walls / floor connection is white and looks quite nice i think with black paint walls and white skirting. I was wondering if my ceiling and walls were black, maybe it would be good to also have the skirting on the ceiling to be white so it will sort of match the white skirting on the floor....? what do you guys think? So then the ceiling and walls are black and the skirtings both at the top and bottom of the walls are white so it sort of provides a nice contrast.

Questions was can a small area like the skirting area on the ceiling still negatively affect the visual advantages of a dark wall / ceiling for a Home Theatre room? As in i know the dark colour is meant to absorb and not reflect light etc, but then would the white skirting affect it even though its quite a small portion?

P.S I have noticed that matte walls really do scuff very easily

I used a paler color for the cornice in our old HT room for the purpose of making the room feel larger, and it worked well. Flat black ceiling and very dark walls did the job of reducing reflection. I don't know about white cornice, but a paler contrast gives a nice look - assuming your room width is not too narrow in the first place.

[womble66]

Like @ apgood & @roachy, I'm going with the Rosco Supersaturated Velvet Black (#6003), Ordered it direct from Rosco Paints in Sydney yesterday and it was delivered today so I am ready to paint the ceiling and screen wall in black and the remaining walls in a deep red (burgundy). Will see how it goes.

Edited June 8, 2016 by womble66

[hopefullguy]

hi womble.. can you let me know what you thought of the rosco paint.. i am trying to decide a dark colour for ceiling, rear of screen and about 2m out from screen.. thanks

[hopefullguy]

so i have narrowed it down to:

british paints matt black $62.50 4lt

dulux design flat black $72.90 4lt

solver scenic flat poster black $85 4lt

rosco super saturated black velvet ? (they cant be bothered emailing me a quote) 3.78lt makes 7.6 lt so way too much paint.. could sell half i guess.

suggestions?

[Mikeyday]

1 hour ago, hopefullguy said:

dulux design flat black

Sorry, I can't compare the others but I did use the Dulux on the wall behind the AT screen, it is supposed to be for theatre use. I found that in the week or so before I got the screen up, I did watch a couple movies and some TV with the projector on the black (dark grey) painted wall and it was actually watchable. This disappointed me a bit as I didn't expect it would reflect that much light.

Once again, I can't compare but I do have a bit left over if you want a small sample and live near.

[hopefullguy]

i live in adelaide

[Mikeyday]

7 hours ago, hopefullguy said:

i live in adelaide

Sent you a PM

[YourMateDyl]

On ‎18‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 11:56 AM, hopefullguy said:

so i have narrowed it down to:

british paints matt black $62.50 4lt

dulux design flat black $72.90 4lt

solver scenic flat poster black $85 4lt

rosco super saturated black velvet ? (they cant be bothered emailing me a quote) 3.78lt makes 7.6 lt so way too much paint.. could sell half i guess.

suggestions?

We're using Brittsh matt black at the moment for our acoustic panels and ceiling. I don't think there's much of a difference between them all to be honest when it comes to matt blacks. This Brittish paint marks easy but it's as Black as you can get with zero shine. Supposedly the Dulux doesn't mark at all, but I find that hard to believe unless it's not truly matt black.
 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Dylan86.exe
spelling

[Mikeyday]

3 minutes ago, Dylan86.exe said:

Supposedly the Dulux doesn't mark at all, but I find that hard to believe unless it's not truly matt black.
 

I can assure you that the Dulux does mark very easily. I only have to touch it or brush up against it and it leaves light patches. I really don't know how this compares with the other paints but for me, most of the wall is covered with the screen and the entertainment unit so it doesn't really matter. Just don't touch it!! Easier said than done

[YourMateDyl]

I can assure you that the Dulux does mark very easily. I only have to touch it or brush up against it and it leaves light patches. I really don't know how this compares with the other paints but for me, most of the wall is covered with the screen and the entertainment unit so it doesn't really matter. Just don't touch it!! Easier said than done

Yeah that's what the Dulux rep told me. I didn't think there was any truth to it. And this Brittish paint is exactly the same. So when it comes to Matt black - i assume it's all the same and I'd be more inclined to go with the cheapest option.

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[hopefullguy]

yes i am leaning that way... i usually buy solver but 35% more money compared to british paints.. cant see it

[womble66]

3 hours ago, Dylan86.exe said:

this Brittish paint is exactly the same.

 

3 hours ago, Mikeyday said:

Dulux does mark very easily

And so does the Rosco paint but like @Mikeyday my screen covers 75% of my from wall and no one is tall enough to touch my ceilings so there are only a few marks from when I installed the downlights and rear speakers but hardly noticeable unles syou look for them.

[lonewolf1503560131]

Here is my room with the painting and skirting etc done. I havent set up the room with the equipment yet though.

 

[YourMateDyl]

12 minutes ago, lonewolf1503560131 said:

Here is my room with the painting and skirting etc done. I havent set up the room with the equipment yet though.

 

Looks good! I was un-decided on whether or not to paint the cornice and architraves with dark walls and ceiling. I think the cornice would look better black or how Ruth did hers' by using a shade lighter maybe so it doesn't distract the eye. And leaving the architrave white... but that's obviously subjective to taste
By the way, Bunnings sell matt black power outlets and light switches if you want to change the colour of them  And there's a company in the UK on ebay that sell matt black speaker wall plates - we just purchased from.

[lonewolf1503560131]

We actually initially had some of the skirting (is that what cornices and architraves are?) painted Black as well and then halfway through we asked them to change it to White as we found the white actually made it look nicer and added a little bit of contrast and style. While the black still looked good but was more dull i guess. I think they both work.

I might have to take a look for those black power outlets, thanks for the tip. I actually bought all these power outlets and even the stainless steel covers from masters and then the electrician informed me that they are not for internal but for external or some other type and not the usual type :(.

[justifier]

Hi guys, I know this thread is a little bit old but I would love to see some pics of how you went with the Rosco Black Velvet paint.  I want to do my theatre ceiling in this colour (I have darkish grey walls). I live in the southern suburbs of Adelaide and if one of you has a decent amount left to properly cover my ceiling (approx 8m x 4m) I may be willing to purchase it from you Currently my ceiling is light grey and I think I am losing contrast because of it.

Edited January 14, 2017 by justifier

[hopefullguy]

after researching the same thing i had choices between that particular matt black (over $100) and the solver paint ($87 after RAA discount) in the end went with british paints black matt at $63

cant say it is worse than the others 2 but it has helped my benq w1070 picture look better...

[oztheatre]

I've used pretty much all of them. I'm the one who found the rosco black velvet scenic paint (I should have got a commission that amount of people I've sent their way!).

Upside, more absorbant than the others, but not by as much as they made out.

Downside marks very easily. Feels like a 240grit sandpaper. As do all flat paints. Also harder to get a good finish.

In the end, I think this is my 4th room in 8 years. I ended up going with dulux matte black. Before I settled on that I put it up against a blackboard paint which was pretty good, but again it was bit rougher to touch and though it was blackboard paint it did mark quite easily. The difference between matt and blackboard paint was less than 2% in reflectivity.

I think with everything said and done, you're so unlikely to know which is which.

If you do need to clean flat or matte black walls, use a black t shirt.

Lonewolf. the white cornice and white skirting are going to standout pretty badly now the walls and ceiling are black. Why not paint all of it black?

[womble66]

3 hours ago, justifier said:

I would love to see some pics of how you went with the Rosco Black Velvet paint   .........  I would love to see some pics of how you went with the Rosco Black Velvet paint. if one of you has a decent amount left to properly cover my ceiling

I haven't got any really good pictures as the room is very dark with the block-out are permanently drawn and with dark walls and black ceiling the camera doesn't really show up how good it looks but I will see how I go tomorrow and maybe post some pics. Sorry but I inly have a little bit of the ROSCO left over for touch ups should it be required but based on me using about 7 litres to do close to 30m^2 (screen wall 2.4 x 4 + ceiling 4 x 4.6 + cornices) you will need a full tin of the ROSCO, or any other option to cover your ceiling (32m^2).

1 hour ago, hopefullguy said:

that particular matt black (over $100) and the solver paint ($87 after RAA discount) in the end went with british paints black matt at $63

Agree but you get 7-8 litres of the ROSCO for the $$$$ while you only get 4 litres for the other 2 options so a $/L the ROSCO works out cheaper if you need to cover a large area needing more than 4 litres.

1 hour ago, oztheatre said:

Downside marks very easily. Feels like a 240grit sandpaper. As do all flat paints. Also harder to get a good finish.

Agree. Lucky for me my mates is a painter so the finish ended up really good and he did say he was surprised how well it covered and I am sure if I did a DIY job the results would have been different

1 hour ago, oztheatre said:

If you do need to clean flat or matte black walls, use a black t shirt

Thanks for the tip but not sure why the colour would matter but I will log this in the memory as I trust your experience.

[Hatlesschimp]

Solver paints
Intrigue grey matte
Black flat from factory no tint

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