why not hang mirrors instead of mylar?

[Guest]

mylar is hard to hang straight and can create hot spots if not done correctly,

I was just wondering if it's the cost, or if I went to my local hardware store would they be able to get mirrors for me according to my size?

 

[MasterBudGrower]

Mirrors are no good They project the light to perfectley. The light needs to disberst. With mirrors the light is projected more like a laser sorta and burns worst than badly hung mylar.

 

[MasterBudGrower]

Just go to office supply store and buy large poster bord and make large panels with the mylar.

 

[Oreganic]

Interesting.. Never really knew that, thanks for the info MasterBudGrower!

-budo.

 

[Guest]

Unless you've already bought the mylar save yourself some money and just paint everthing flat white. Works almost as well and is a helluva lot easier.

 

[MasterBudGrower]

yea white paint is a very good way to go.

 

[Guest]

Flat white paint is excellent- although those $2 mylar emergency blankets work great for covering small spaces. For $6 I covered my entire closet in mylar, and it's easily disposed of/replaced with no major financial burden when it gets grungy. However, I eventually got sick of fussing with mylar and painted the room flat white, since it's washable and I can spray it down between grows to keep things sanitary.

 

[imnotcrazy]

Plus with a mirror the light must pass through glass (losing intensity due to refraction) reflect off of the reflecting surface (special type of paint I believe) then pass back through the glass again losing more intensity before usable.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

mirrors absorb the light...thats how mirrors work......its also why theyre no good to reflect light

 

[Sebastion deluX]

lol, yea, im with harry on this one. a mirror captures the light perfectly and evenly. try shining a flash light into your mirror from like 1 ft and see the reflection at 1 ft, then do it on mylar.


been here, thought of this

(one crazy idea i had that im embarrased to make a post about, what if you took chicken wire and sandwiched a plant a few days before putting it from veg to flower so it could get out of shock, and then changed the light from above to beside. you might have to pull a lot of leaves through the grating towards the light, but if it started just hanging buds off the screen like a vine... maybe my imagination is better than reality thou hehe. I do imagine i could make like 6 of these sandwiches though and lay them all around a close up HPS, and i bet they would all get very good foot candles and low heat. Also, what if i then put the plants on a large lazy susan....)

 

[TheSource]

i wonder if reflective paint would work.

Why not make a reflective paint? -- like that used to make the lines on
highways and reflective signs. It can be formulated from any clear paint in
which is suspended micro glass beads.

 

[Druid]

I prefer using "space blankets" very cheap and very reflective. You can find them in the camping supply section of various stores.

 

[prineofpottys]

paint..im too lazy to mess with mylar.

 

[growit1234]

is flat whit the most reflective paint or would hi gloss be better

 

[peanut]

The gloss breaks the light up upon reflection making it less effective, matt or flat white is much better.
It would be interesting to see the end results of three identical grows , one with matt walls one with gloss and one with mylar.

 

[monkeyman]

mylar is dangerous too. Very flamible.

 

[growit1234]

what about the white side of that Rigid Foam Board insulation used in home construction? It is that stuff that is white on one side and silver on the other.

 

[Texassativa]

Try the "Disco Tech". I wrote an article on DrChronic's site. If the room is small, try using CD's glued to a board or to the wall. Use hotglue. Place them in a tile pattern. You can place then on the ceiling, walls, and floor. They can supplement flat white walls. They have a higher temp range then mylar, are easy to clean, and are cheaper then mylar. I use netscape Cd's. (free). I know this sounds like a wild idea, try it out on your seedling cab. It really does help. the reflective alum coating on the disk will really reflect alot of light. If you know how to use an auto cam to measure lums, check it out.