...I totally agree...foil is one of the WORSE reflective materials to use, creates hot spots and sends light to unwanted directions.you can get a gallon of flat white paint from Home Depot for $7 . I would go with bare walls before I used foil .
I don't think its foil. Its Mylar Sheeting, It's best for reflecting. Not the cheapest but work really wellrealy, then why is easy grow light tight made with foil. ive yet to see any damage from it....forum myths.
As I have said - I try lots of different things that I have read about.mylar suks. light tight isnt mylar,. its aluminum foil infused in layers into the back white panda film....watch what happens when you get mylar wet.,...you can see through it.
http://www.easy-grow.co.uk/pdf/Easy_Grow_American_Leaflet.pdf
Never seen any kind of ´hotspot´ with foil - the whole idea is total Old Wives´Tale rubbish.It's possible to get hot spots with foil if the light is very large but I've never seen a 400W create any kind of hot spot with foil.
Got a reputable reference for all these figures ????Material Percent Reflected
Foylon 94-95%
Reflective Mylar 90-95%
Flat White Paint 85-93%
Semi-gloss White 75-80%
Flat Yellow 70-80%
Aluminum Foil 70-75%
Black Less Than 10%
Sorry, thought I'd said - Jorge Cervante's Indoor Grow Bible pg 188Got a reputable reference for all these figures ????
In other ops I have used white paint. For my personal op, the black and white plastic from the hydro shop. I think that would be the Mylar. I never asked the guy for the technical terms, I just tell him I want some of that reflective plastic stuff.you did...and he said any reputable ones.