looking for DIY reflectors for spiral CFLs

[nugpuffer]

high gloss white spraypaint (aka krylon)

I have always heard to go with flat white paint for light reflectors. The reason the paint appears white is because it is reflecting the full light spectrum. The major difference between gloss and flat paint is that flat paint effectively diffuses (scatters) the light, where as gloss paint may directly reflect the light in straight lines from the angles of the hood. This will lead to something known as "hot spots" where some areas of you tank will receive more of the light than others.

There reflectivity of both gloss and flat white paint should be similar, however flat white will more evenly distribute the light into your tank.

 

[Amunra]

I have done mine with more reflective side of a kitchen Foil, works good. Just have t o glue it @ few places , I had made my lights out of MarineLand Canopy which came wit h the tank. The foils sit quite well in there,

 

[fl4ian]

i'm suprised to hear about the advantage/disadvantage of using white paint vs mylar...

also, the flat paint vs glossy paint seems to make sense - i wonder if anyone has done an actual experiment on it...

 

[coach_z]

my dad formulates paint for a living ....i will have to ask him...ill be back with an answer that will probably be long, detailed and confusing

 

[fl4ian]

Excellent! Answers just the way I like em.

 

[nugpuffer]

This would be the ideal stuff to coat the reflector with (98.9% avg reflectivity). It would probably be hard to get in anything but large quantities, however it does show the potential for using white paint on light reflectors.

 

[FastFly67]

i used aluminum flashing to rig a hood for an under cabinet light bar. works pretty well for me

 

[jmhart]

If cheap is what's important, spend $3 on white paint.

If you don't care about the money, and just want some great, easy to work with reflectors, order from ahsupply. You can buy just the reflectors, they aren't very expensive(more than $3, but still not too bad).

The thing about reflectors is, it's not as much about the coating or material used, but the angle of the reflector. You can slap some mylar up there, but if it just reflects the light against the other side of the hood or back at the bulb, it's not doing anything for you.