White paint instead of mylar?

Old And Miserable

Old And Miserable

Member
I have the design for a grow setup all ready to go, but recent events have made me put that on the back burner for now. However, I am going to set up a super simple, nothing special area to start/grow until I am able to unleash my creative prowess.

Like many of us, I want to do this as cheap as possible. I have a few plastic shelving units in the garage that I will attach cardboard to on one side, arrange the shelves in a "circle", and grow inside the shelves. I have a crap ton of cfls, and I've also got 2 500w halogen worklights, so I don't thing light is an issue. However, I don't have any reflective material for the walls, tho I do have a few partial cans cans of white paint the landlord used last year that are still in liquid form.

My question... if I paint the cardboard white, will it work? I have seen yes's and no's in my searches, and so I bring it to you fine people.

Thanks in advance!
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Halogen worklights you can totally forget. Useless for plants and hotter than hell.

Painting cardboard sounds interesting but a waste of time. Reflectivity would be zilch. Better off lining with white butcher or parchment paper.
 
Old And Miserable

Old And Miserable

Member
I agree, hotrodharley, that halogen lights are super toasty, but right now, besides a bunch of cfl's, not many fixtures and the 2 500w halogens, it's all I have. I was thinking about using the 500w lights as background light, keeping them at a safe distance, cooling the lights with fans (of course) and having the cfl bulbs in close for the heavy-duty work. I'll see if I can get some pics, maybe start a journal...

As for the paint, I stumbled across this a few minutes ago.... what do you all think?

https://www.growweedeasy.com/reflectivity

"Flat white latex paint (85-95% light reflectivity)

This is a highly recommended option for those who can't invest in a grow tent or for the crafty DIY grower who opts to build a grow cabinet (or a whole room). Excluding the hammered style texture you see in grow tents, this paint will give you some of the best "bang for your buck" of any reflection option. Flat white paint is inexpensive, effective, and there's no way to create air pockets or hot spots behind the reflective material. Just paint the walls, let them dry, and you're done!"

There's more, but this was the part that made me re-think the white paint.
 
D

dtrip

Well-Known Member
Yes. White flat paint is more or less the second best to real mylar. Mylar from chips-bags will most likely form hotspots because its not completly flat.

Glossy white is not good.
 
Old And Miserable

Old And Miserable

Member
Thanks, dtrip, for the feedback! I know mylar would be great, if I could get it flat and no ripples, but right now, I'm so broke, I can't even afford to pay attention... Bad joke, but I'm a dad, so it's allowed. #dealwithit :p

I wonder if anyone has tried using a ton of chip bags...
 
Srirachi

Srirachi

Well-Known Member
My opinions: There is no appreciable difference between white paint and mylar. Use what you got. Chips bags is damned creative. I like it. Never tried it though... but I'd probably do the white paint. You have to really work at hurting a plant with hotspots. I'd like to see someone post a pic of plant damage due to a hot spot lol. Frankly people overthink this. It is important, but you aren't going to make or break a grow by switching from chip bags to white paint to mylar sheeting.

I agree that the halogen light may not be worth the trouble. For seedlings I'd go with the CFLs you mentioned and try to come up with a better light in the meantime. The halogens make more heat than they're worth, you know they actually use those to heat food and stuff. It's almost like they're heaters that give off a lot of light instead of the other way around.
 
Prince Vegeta

Prince Vegeta

Well-Known Member
Old And Miserable said:
Thanks, dtrip, for the feedback! I know mylar would be great, if I could get it flat and no ripples, but right now, I'm so broke, I can't even afford to pay attention... Bad joke, but I'm a dad, so it's allowed. #dealwithit :p

I wonder if anyone has tried using a ton of chip bags...
Click to expand...
I haven't used the chip bags
But i do use the windshield savers
The inserts for hot days in your car?
One side is really shiny but its dimpled so may not be the best
But painting my room isn't an option
And I can't afford a roll of Mylar
Maybe this helps
Also I am currently trying just some plain white trash bags as wallpaper
Seems to be better than the wallpaper that was up
 

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Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
flat white paint works, i use killz with the anti fungal additive.
most methods work to varying degrees, some are a little better than others, but i really don't think any of it is going to make much of a difference.
supposedly the hammered, polished aluminum works the best, high reflectivity and the texture makes hot spots impossible.
but i'm guessing the difference between flat white paint and hammered aluminum is about 1% more reflectivity, which may make a .001 difference in yield...

i chose white paint with the antifungal additive for the obvious reason, plus anything you attach to the wall is just another thing to keep clean, and stuff can happen between the mylar and the wall that you won't see till it gets bad
 
OldSchoolGrower

OldSchoolGrower

Well-Known Member
For vegging your plants cheaply. Walmart has a 4' foot 33w 150w equivalency LED Shop Light made by HyperTough. It's what I used for my current grow along with a couple CFL's to veg under and train my plants for 42 days until my other light arrived. You'll be pleasantly pleased with the growth it produces. You can see all my pics of the plants under it in my grow journalnpics are from seeds sprouting to current growth. Have to rip the skirts off the girls (defoliate) today again. Getting ready to flip to flower after I order my 2nd light on the 1st of August like you my budget is limited, and being on disability, money does not go far after bills. Below are a few pics of plants under the shop light before they went under my new light. Feel free to check out my grow journal and use the start conversation tab if we want to talk or ask any questions. Be more than happy to help out. Picture with cord in background is the 1st day they went under the new light. All that growth came from low stress training them under the led shop light and 4 13w CFL's hanging off to the side. Even took my clones while they were under the shop light...... Sorry other pics aren't uploading right now. Internet sucks today. I'm in a rural area. But all he pics are in my grow journal posts from seedlings to going under new light 4 days ago and current.
 

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JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Hi Old and Miserable,
Cost is always an issue, but I would say that your choices should be in the realm of possibility. I'm referring to Halogen lights. They are bright with a nice white spectrum...but damn those little bulbs are fragile and don't last long. I used them in my shop for awhile but IMHO they don't even make very good shop lights.

You can pick up a cheap apollo hps with shade for peanuts...well damn cheap anyway.

And I use flat white painted walls in my grow room. Always have.
JD
 
Old And Miserable

Old And Miserable

Member
Man, I'm away for a bit, and this place blows up! Thanks to everyone for the advice!

I've got basic plans drawn up, and once I've got them fine-tuned, I'll start a journal; hopefully I won't get sidetracked! My health has been a bit off, and I've had to take a bit of a break, but I'll get back at things asap!!!

A question I had; what do you all think about the reflective qualities of the plastic from bathtubs and the tub surrounds? I know, I know... But a buddy of mine was doing a bathroom reno recently, and as I was helping him choose a new tub a while ago, the thought of the shiny plastic made me think...
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
it's a decent surface, but anytime you put two surfaces together in a moist environment, shit's going to grow between them. shit you don't want growing in that general vicinity. you'd be a lot better off with paint, or something like mylar that's easy to remove, clean behind, and replace.(compared to large plastic panels)
 
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