Mylar vs. Black/White Panda? What is the best reflective material to use?

[sleepyrz]

mylar is flammable and conducts electricity

used near an ozone generator it starts to spark across wrinkles

this is the regular thin crap mylar which is a pain in the ass to put up

im not sure about the reflectix and diamond style mylar substitutes

also straight mylar is super thin and tears easily


which is why i vote black/white panda which does not have these problems

 

[Mr. Stinky]

elastomeric white paint is the best.nearly as reflective as mylar when new, but MORE reflective than mylar with age. its made for roof coating. has titanium in it, it stretches 300%, fills and smooths cracks and gaps, waterproofs everything, and is easily washable...all things that mylar doesnt do. diffuse light is better for plant growth than directed light. its 17 bucks a gallon at walmart, or 66 for a 5 gallon bucket that will do alot of wall coverage.

 

[SKUNK420]

Having used both Mylar and Panda over the years its white paint for me.

yup i hear that one. sometimes the mylar or plastic is a hassle. use 3m spray adhesive and a couple staples to install plastic or mylar if you dont care about the walls. get it flat and smooth and tight. mylar will have a clean reflection

i think i'll have to try this stuff

 

[turbolaser4528]

elastomeric white paint is the best.nearly as reflective as mylar when new, but MORE reflective than mylar with age. its made for roof coating. has titanium in it, it stretches 300%, fills and smooths cracks and gaps, waterproofs everything, and is easily washable...all things that mylar doesnt do. diffuse light is better for plant growth than directed light. its 17 bucks a gallon at walmart, or 66 for a 5 gallon bucket that will do alot of wall coverage.

thats what I just bought, 55 dollars for a gallon from amesresearch.com, I may have over paid but whatever. I'd rather get it from a company that specializes in these types of paints, talked to a rep there and they said has very low to no VOC's once dried. Just got it in the mail cant wait to see how it compares/performs, having done mylar, foil, white paint, and poly.

 

[Vegan]

Having used both Mylar and Panda over the years its white paint for me.

ive heard this from more than 1 person

..if price is no object..id go mylar and replace accordingly..im runnin panda now and love it , e can definitly tell when its dirty.

 

[Gunnarguchi]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this stuff:

"Diamond Reflective sheeting is a premium reflective sheeting which has all the reflective qualities of Mylar but with more even light distribution due to the diamond pattern. 100% Lightproof, Diamond Sheeting is flame retardant, easier to handle and much more resistant to creasing than other types of reflective sheeting. Also, uniquely the reflective metal layer is sandwiched behind a clear protective PET film that protects against heat, humidity, moisture and handling. Sold off the roll in any length by 1.4 metre widths."

ive seen that stuff a few times on Ebay
looks very promising but so far the price has been 4-5 x of regular mylar
when prices go down more i might some of it and try later

ive just bought mylar for my room but when it needs replacement im seriously thinking about the Diamond cover
also i think prices are more fair by then

 

[HellaFella420]

PANDA HANDS DOWN...... [or white paint]


The white diffuses the light instead of reflecting it....


Ever noticed how much you squint MORE on a white cloudy overcast day then on a sunny cloudless one? Or ever been in a greenhouse or hoop house with white opaque surfaces instead of clear? It makes my eyes water its so intense sometimes....till you get used to it..

If someone wants to explain the science behind this im all ears...



Also, to hang any fragile film like material, I stick a small peice of duct-tape to it, then staple through the tape, it gives it structure to staple to without ripping or tearing through.....

Kinda like how you can stick a needle in a baloon without popping it, if its through a peice of scotch tape

 

[HABIT]

The reason its cooler when your using "WHITE PAINT" is because instead of reflecting back all the lost light its being drawn off into the walls and lost. Its like leaving a window open when you heat your home in the winter.

The more efficient your energy return the higher your temperatures. (yes that can be a problem) But it can also be like having an extra grow light. BIGGER PLANTS, FOR LESS MONEY)

The less efficient your grow room is the cooler the temps and smaller the plants. Longer the grow cycle. = More cost to you in the end. Like having degraded grow lamps.

Your getting the benefit of all that lost light being captured and returned to you ( yes that means heat) What does that work out to be a FREE 1000 Watt GROW LIGHT (???) So what do we do???????
------- We toss it in the trash ,,,,,by painting the walls white,,,,lol (sorry couldn't resist)

I'm sure if we do the math its worth exploring the cost of adding a cooling solution. If your getting heat build up from reflection, pat yourself on the back. You've got the equivalent of free grow lights

 

[the gnome]

white paint or the panda is way more consistent in refecting back light, mylar may have 98% reflectivity but it may reflect lite great in on spot but not the other, you have *hot spots* so to say with mylar.

do this is you have a lite meter, put mylar on a section of wall
and see what the meter says and then the panda or a white painted wall and see how the meter reacts.
keep the same distance, move the meter back and forth and see what happens.

 

[Quitters]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this stuff:

"Diamond Reflective sheeting is a premium reflective sheeting which has all the reflective qualities of Mylar but with more even light distribution due to the diamond pattern. 100% Lightproof, Diamond Sheeting is flame retardant, easier to handle and much more resistant to creasing than other types of reflective sheeting. Also, uniquely the reflective metal layer is sandwiched behind a clear protective PET film that protects against heat, humidity, moisture and handling. Sold off the roll in any length by 1.4 metre widths."

you should really check this video link !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c020_4EdIW0




Peace

 

[dtp5150]

Being a newbie, and even knowing mirrors are bad and white paint is good, i got the mylar for some reason.

After I got it, I was very mad to see its not light proof. So I bought a tarp, like an idiot, and then I bought black poly. So to make a lightproof barrier I have Mylar - Black poly - black poly - mylar, a freakin 4 layer sandwich just to make a light barrier.

If I had to do it again, I would definitely had gotten the panda film. And yes the mylar gets dirty easy if you have to spray for bugs or something, and it gets scuffed up easy. Its a waste.

In summary here is my opinion,

If you have a room/box or something you can paint, paint it!

If you have to section off or create light barriers or something, no walls, use pandafilm!

For those worried about FLiR, put the mylar on your ceiling and side walls, underneath the panda film. i dont see why you couldn't paint white over it and still retain the IR qualities.

 

[nikolaos_t]

Diffuse radiation

Diffuse radiation

The white diffuses the light instead of reflecting it....

Ever noticed how much you squint MORE on a white cloudy overcast day then on a sunny cloudless one? Or ever been in a greenhouse or hoop house with white opaque surfaces instead of clear? It makes my eyes water its so intense sometimes....till you get used to it..

If someone wants to explain the science behind this im all ears...

I know this thread is very old but I couldn't help myself. Google still directs people like me to here anyway, so the thread is not dead.

The science behind squinting more on an overcast day is explained after the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. While the scientists were expecting a drop in photosynthesis rate due to the light blocking effect of volcanic aerosols, they were initially puzzled to see that it actually increased. Then they discovered that the aerosols scattered solar radiation in such a way that the volume of shade within vegetative canopies is reduced which translated to... well, you know.

Here are a few good reads about the phenomenon:

http://www.co2science.org/subject/v/summaries/volcanobio.php
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/in-aftermath-of-volcanic/

 

[nikolaos_t]

And oh, about squinting... You squint more because there is no way of escaping the light on an overcast day - which is coming from all directions instead of a single point.

 

[HomoHabilis]

well guy's i'll post my question here to avoid making a new topic

I prefer black/white films for my plants too...but i know that mylar have some ir block propreties.

Here's the situation : i live in France and i need hiding my room from IR cameras, but as i prefer back/white films for reflection, is there any chance that someone know if mylar ir properties can work behind a black/white film ?

Thanks

 

[HomoHabilis]

sorry got my answer watching this vid

 

[St. Phatty]

You can buy a 1 foot by 4 foot mirror in a frame for $10.

That reflects pretty good.

 

[HuffnPufferfish]

well guy's i'll post my question here to avoid making a new topic

I prefer black/white films for my plants too...but i know that mylar have some ir block propreties.

Here's the situation : i live in France and i need hiding my room from IR cameras, but as i prefer back/white films for reflection, is there any chance that someone know if mylar ir properties can work behind a black/white film ?

Thanks

ir cameras CANNOT see tru walls (or ANY other object, if its behind a window, its invisible)


https://www.opengrow.com/topic/46905-myth-busted-or-not-reflective-wall-materials/

obviously a mirror is best, and its not even 95% reflective (fuck the panda mylar jokers) and its SO reflective, it even reflects non light sources WOOOOOOOOOOH

 

[Snook]

buy bigger light.. f da reflectivity but in there is flat white paint.


EDIT: mirror almost better than nothing but white paint better

 

[CoCoSativas]

I hate how mylar is strength wise but I have heard it reflects much better than panda BUT wanted to get some more information from those who have really tested out the many reflective materials.

So what actually reflects the most usable light as well as WHY you use one over the other even if it reflects less, for instance, like the mylar for me it was a pain to apply to the walls of the cabinet unlike panda film was.

Any thoughts? I am all ears.

White paint is the best though I prefer plastic for ease to use and I like it's black and white great for covering windoes

 

[GuerrillaRed]

I'm in the middle of doing some remodeling out in my garage right now and I've spent a lot of time researching this.

From what I understand White Reflective paint is the most reflective from 80-90% reflective if you're using a roofing paint or a flat white paint. Mylar is 92-95% but has some issues and a short life span.

I just painted my garage with this in mind. I went with Kilz Premium for the Premier and I went with Henry Solar-Flex roofing paint which is 90% reflective.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-4-75-Gal-287-Solar-Flex-White-Roof-Coating-HE287SF871/100051140

I figure I'll be much happier with the 90% paint over mylar which has a short life span, hot spots and can welcome mold and bacteria into the room from what I've read.