grow area lining - mylar or white paint/found my sun system!!!

[h^2 O]

ok so as most of you know I'm dirt poor right now and every penny counts. I didn't have mylar, or money for it, and instead used tinfoil. YES, I know you're not supposed to use it but I had to figure out something. I'm noticing it creates WAY too much heat in there, even with just a few cfl's going. SO, I'm considering painting it white - but everything on the subject says to use FLAT white paint. Why wouldn't you use GLOSSY???? Isn't that more reflective???? Also, is plain wood wall probably better than tinfoil? That is, if I can't find flat white paint, should I just rip off the tinfoil and just have it be bare wood?
Also, I found my Sun System!!!!! I've been looking for it upwards of 9 months. Turned out it was WAY in the back of a closet I had checked like a dozen times, extensively. Plugged it in, turned it on, and sure enough it works like a charm. Now if I'm going to use that instead of the cfl's I REALLY need to get rid of that tinfoil.
Thanks for listening and thanks in advance!!!

 

[Sour Deez]

granny is gonna be pissed when she finds out her tin foil is gone

 

[h^2 O]

what granny don't know won't hurt her

 

[BattleAxe]

Flat White paint FTW. I dunno how or why but Flat is more reflective than gloss, something with the gloss that absorbs the light rather than reflects it.

I like Kilz 2 from Home Depot, it has some built in anti-mold and fungal properties for those times of high humidity.


Ditch the foil, I can't imagine it making that big of a difference in reflectivity.

 

[h^2 O]

yeah I've been looking at reflectivity stuff online today...seems foil is only like 55% reflective if totally unwrinkled, and flat white is 65%. But you don't get hotspots. Of course mylar would be great but it's not in the budget. Looked around the house and only found semi-gloss. I might just take the foil off and let it be bare wood until I can get some mylar or an emergency blanket.

 

[stonedar]

the folds on an emergency blanket makes them piss poor wall covering, I mean people do it but it's just hots spot city.
I personally don't like mylar it's a mess to clean, if you wrinkle it then you are back to hotspots.
wish I knew you I got a nice roll of mylar thats been collecting dust for at least 12 years now.

 

[Can420]

Not sure what its like in your area, but some recycle centers you can get paint free or for a little price.

From the Indoor marijuana horticulture (the Indoor bible);

Material % reflected

Foylon 94-95
Mylar 90-95
flat white paint 85-93
semi gloss paint 75-80
flat yellow 70-80
Alum foil 70-75
Black 0-10

 

[stillsmokin843]

yes some dumps or recycle center sell paint for a dollar a gallon as can420 said hope this helps

 

[Iron_Lion]

For a few cfl grow I dont think shiny or flat is going to make that much of a difference. Better hope g-ma doesnt call the po once she finds out you're growing drugs.

 

[h^2 O]

For a few cfl grow I dont think shiny or flat is going to make that much of a difference. Better hope g-ma doesnt call the po once she finds out you're growing drugs.

na I found my sun system earlier. So I'm back in business.

Yeah I think I'll just try the semi gloss I found in the basement. I'm trying to do 30 things at once...still don't have a timer, been switching it manually...so need that. Need bigger pots or some bigger bottles. Have to hang the light. Have to split the cab in half somehow. Lot of stuff to do with little money. Need another fan too. Splitting the cab into 2 compartments is going to be tough seeing I have hardly any supplies. Was thinking of just using black plastic sheeting and doubling it up. Should be light proof. Need velcro too.

 

[Iron_Lion]

How much of a budget are you working with?

 

[eloquentsoution]

the problem is, plants prefer diffused light rather then reflected light. you are correct in your assessment of what reflects the most light, irrelevant as that may be to your girls.

 

[someotherguy]

High man, if you can swing $15.00 you could get a gallon of elastomeric white paint, ...it's found in the roofing department of Lowes and Home Depot 'cause it's made for painting trailor roofs.

Anyway, it's cheap and reflective as well as mold and mildew resistant, plus, 'elastomeric' means rubberized so it's watetproof.

If you can swing like $30.00 you could get a roll of reflectix and line the whole box with it, maybe even make your partition out of it.

Peace, SOG

 

[Bueno Time]

Flat white paint works great and cheap.

 

[St3ve]

The reality, is that its not going to make much difference anyway so if you're going to do it, you may as well do it right.

Meaning, don't go cheap and use foil or glossy paint. Just leave it bare wood until you can afford the 8 bux for some flat white paint.

 

[benjuanman]

Hey h^2 O i'd go with the flat white paint too. I feel your pain when it comes to being on the bones of your arse but needing a heap of necessities for the grow. Sounds like things are falling in place finding that light. Well anways good luck with it man. Peace

 

[nugghead]

I don't know if this is useful to you, but I lined my room with 2 mil mylar on all surfaces but the floor and I really wish I'd just used flat white paint. The mylar is sort of a pain to handle and hang, is partly transparent, crinkles, falls off when you bump into it, shows handprints (and fingerprints!), and is highly flammable. White paint works just as well, is cheaper and easier to apply, and has none of those defects.

Also, even though it reminds me of a Jimi Hendrix song, being in the mylar room makes me a little seasick.

 

[iBlaze]

An amazing easy solution. Go to Kmart or Walmart and pick up a Mylar type kitchen wrap in white. You get hundreds of sq.feet of it for 2-4$. You won't need to paint a wall or any bullshit. When you want to remove evidence of a grow room it simply peels off just like it did off of the sticker tape. Pretty much it's a big sexy reflective sticker. Hope this info helps.

 

[iBlaze]

Works beautifully.

 

[rollinmachine]

grabbed a gal of kilz exterior flat %100 acrylic latex. mildew fungal resistant. water resistant. n says easy to clean for $12 on clearence at walmart. also for shits n giggles it has No420 at the bottom on the label...lol