btw...a hot spot is a pocket of air in the grow room hotter than the rest caused by the reflective material not distributing the reflected light properly...not tiny little light lasers burning holes in your plants....
that couldn't be further from the truth. A hot spot is a wrinkle in the reflective material causing a convex shape that focuses the light. It is no different than using a magnifying glass to burn wood.
Common sense dictates using a ventilation system of some type...how can you get hot "air pockets" with air constantly moving?
THIS is what I mean be retards spreading rumors...I don't mean everyone is a tard...just the people who believe in something totally wrong and spread the incorrect information.
Myth: Mylar is superior to flat white paint
Fact: Flat white Paint is superior to mylar except under optimal conditions, and even still it has so many drawbacks it fails to be worth the tiny tiny tiny reflective gain over paint.
Unless you pull mylar perfectly tight so it's not all wrinkled it isn't even better brand new and perfectly clean.
Then part of the problem with mylar is that is gets so dirty so quick and easy and is difficult to clean up to say the least so many don't keep it clean often enough to truly keep it better than paint.
Because mylar provides a space for critters to breed and hide from your sprays, it's not worth it.
Because mylar blocks airflow it can trap moisture between itself and the walls of your grow. It can actually encourage mold issues because of that and the fact you aren't getting behind it to clean and disinfect as often as you should.
With paint, it's very easy to slap on a fresh coat at any time, between every couple grows or whenever needed, and that fresh coat is a great way to not only keep your grow as EVENLY reflective as possible but seal in any spores, fungus, mold, whatever that might have escaped your cleaning. It is easier to repaint than it is to disinfect and clean a room with mylar by a large margin.
White paint can never hotspot, period. Your growth will be more even in the room provided your lights are arranged well.
The ideal paint (or at least one of them) is Behr Ultra Pure White flat wall paint. Never use a gloss, and be careful of anything other than a paint made to be this pure white. Paints that aren't perfectly pure white will not reflect the spectrums of light you are using properly, and could turn usable light into unusable light just by skewing the color even the slightest amount.
a so-so post. yea Mylar isn't THAT superior but plain ol every day flat white paint isn't in the same ball park with good reflective materials.
Getting dirty? What makes you think a painted surface doesn't get as dirty? I'm guessing it's because you can't SEE the dirt that you think it's not as dirty. Truth is, it doesn't matter what you use, it gets dirty at the same rate.
Flat paint? No, you should at least use an egg shell sheen. If you are using floros you should use a high gloss if possible.
If you want to use paint at all, buy a premium brand of roof coating (Cool Seal) which reflects about 95% of all light.
The problem with flat white paint is it reflects less than 70% of all light (key word here is ALL as the light you and I see is useless to plants). In reality, the thermal blankets (sold at most sporting goods stores in the camping section for $2.00) or the mirror like gift wrap reflect roughly 80% and are superior to flat white paint. I strongly suggest you only use these if you are using floros however.
Where I agree with this poster is I would take paint over mylar with HID lights. Where a wrinkle could cause a "hot spot" a painted surface won't.
Again I apologize for all the "retard" comments. I hate when I hear (on a forum or in real life) "I just read xxx is true dude! You should be doing that!" People don't take the time to find out the guy that posted xxx is a retard...and they become a retard as well for spreading the...well....tardness!
fact- no it is not
dont piss on em either
Actually urine is a great fert. It's sterile as well. Very high in Nitrogen, but the problem is it's too strong and as it decays it invites bacteria that wouldn't normally be attracted to your soil. Unless you have a perfect environment, I wouldn't recommend it either.