Tips & FAQs
What is Screen Goo?
Who uses it?
Can I use it?
Is it expensive?
Which product for which projector?
How much do I need?
What Can I Put It On?
Rolling Instructions.
Spraying Instructions.
Troubleshooting.
Curing Times.
Why Goo instead of typical wall paint?
Why a Grey coating instead of white?
My projector isn't listed on the calculator, now what?
Damaged your ScreenGoo surface?
Can ScreenGoo be used in a Swimming pool enviroment?

Other Info.
Product Data Sheets and Application Instructions
Material Safety Data Sheets
Goo Swatch Sample
Fire Saftey Test Data
BIM (Building Information Modeling) Files for Architects & System Integrators
VOC content of ScreenGoo



Need more info? Please contact us and we'll be happy to help.

What is Screen Goo?
Goo Systems' Screen Goo products are specially formulated, color corrected, screen coatings in liquid form. They are designed to achieve the highest performance levels possible for a given display situation.
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Who uses it?
Screen Goo products are being used by all levels of the video industry from do-it-yourself home theater aficionados to large scale commercial and industrial clients.
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Can I use it?
Designed for easy application via spraying or rolling, screen goo products can be successfully applied by the novice or professional alike.
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Is it expensive?
The cost of screen execution can be as little as the price of the coating itself - when applied to an available wall space. More dedicated videophiles can investigate the possibilities of elaborate framing systems and custom screen design.
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Which product for which projector?
A seemingly simple question to which, of course, there is no simple answer. We've recently introduced a Product Calculator section to our website. Filling in the requested data as accurately as possible will result in a recommendation of the products best suited to your projector and to your installation. The gain for each colour is shown below -


*Not included in this chart is the Ultra Silver 3D product. This has a Gain of 4.2 to help compensates for light loss in polarized projection

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How much do I need?
The Finish coat and Reflective coat work together; both are required to create a screen. Topcoat and Basecoat coverage per sq. ft. can vary somewhat, depending on the surface conditions. 1 litre will typically cover approximately 50 sq. ft. with two thin coats, under ideal conditions on an ideal non-absorptive surface. Starting with a primed white surface is strongly recommended for peak performance.

Please note that all our coverage levels below allow for two coats of the both Finish and Reflective coats as per our recommendations.

Our Rear Projection product has different coverage levels working out at roughly 500ml for a 60" 16:9 screen giving you a "Hotspotless" image.

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What Can I Put It On?
Front projection Screen Goo can be applied to any smooth paintable surface. Many materials other than the products listed below can be used succesfully. For best results the surface should be flat and smooth. If this surface to be coated is not smooth, it should be sanded down and wiped off prior to applying the Screen Goo basecoat. Porous surfaces such as drywall, gyproc, and wood based materials such as plywood, particle board, MDF, should be sealed with a flat, white latex primer prior to applying Screen Goo basecoat. Coloured surfaces should also be primed with a flat, white latex.

Forex - FOREX®-CLASSIC is a slightly expanded, closed-cell rigid pastic sheet material with a particularly fine and homogeneous cell structure and a silky matt surface. Forex is an ideal solution if you are creating a portable fixed screen or for whatever reason your wall can't be used. more info
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Rolling instructions

Video: In the spirit of a picture being worth a thousand words, the guys @ Goo have put together the following instructional video, featuring the inimitable KBK.



Step 1 - Choose the right roller: We suggest using a 1/4 inch nap, wool and polyester blend roller. Choose a roller whose label indicates that it is for smooth and gloss surfaces. We do NOT recommend using foam rollers.

Step 2 - Surface Preparation and Determination of Screen Size: Screen Goo can be applied to any smooth paintable surface. Many materials other than the products listed below can be used succesfully. For best results the surface should be flat and smooth. If this surface to be coated is not smooth, it should be sanded down and wiped off prior to applying the Screen Goo basecoat. Porous surfaces such as drywall, gyproc, and wood based materials such as plywood, particle board, MDF, should be sealed with a flat, white latex primer prior to applying Screen Goo basecoat. Coloured surfaces should also be primed with a flat, white latex.
We recommend mounting your projector in its permanent location before determining the actual screen dimentions. Once the projector is mounted you should project an image from onto your surface and adjust for image geometry. The width of the image at the top of the screen should be the the same as the width at the bottom and likewise the sides of the image should have the same height. Finally you should check that the image is level and square in the corners. Now you are ready to mask off the area you will be coating with a high quality painters tape. If you intend to create a border around your screen you should allow an extra inch around all sides so that the coated surface will be slightly larger than your projected image.

Step 3 - Basecoat (Also known as Reflective Coat): Rolling this product is a bit trickier than rolling normal latex paint. This means that attention must be paid to application method and roller handling. Some users report improved results with a light sanding of the Basecoat; we see no disadvantage to this, but only the Basecoat layers should be sanded and then only after allowing for a minimum 24 hour drying period prior to sanding.
Place about 200mL of Basecoat in the paint tray to do your first coat. Dab some on one side of the roller, rotate and dab some on the other. Squeeze out any excess coating by rolling on the slanted portion of the paint tray. Don't press too hard. Depending on your screen height, you should have enough paint on the roller to complete approximately two adjacent vertical columns.
Roll the coating in columns using vertical strokes covering the full height of the screen. The coating density should be just sufficient to cover the underlying surface. After the first column is complete, apply the second full column, adjacent to the first, with a slight overlap between the columns. The roller should now have very little paint left on it. You?re now ready to do your first finishing stroke. Center the roller above the overlap, making sure the open end of the roller (which receives less pressure) is facing the just coated side of your screen surface, so that the overlapping layer will have a lightly feathered edge. The wire support side of the roller mechanism naturally presses harder on the surface of the screen, so it should be oriented to the least recently coated side of the screen. Using just enough pressure to get the roller turning, do an uninterrupted stroke from just above the top edge of the screen to just below the bottom edge. It's important not to stop the roller during the finishing stroke as this could cause marks in the finished surface. Following the same procedure, roll two adjacent columns at a time with finishing strokes in between until you've covered the entire viewing surface. Allow the Basecoat to dry thoroughly (typically 1-1.5 hrs.) and then repeat the above procedures for the second layer of Basecoat.

VERY IMPORTANT!
Even after following these instructions to the letter, your wet surface will have a streaky appearance and the overlaps between the columns will be clearly visible. THIS IS NORMAL! While we realize that this is a bit counter-intuitive, LEAVE IT ALONE and the surface will dry to a uniform consistency and colour. Resist the temptation to go back over your work because re-rolling the coating after it has begun to dry (about 2-3 minutes after application) will cause textural differences, potentially resulting in permanent streaks.


Step 4 - Topcoat (Also known as Finish Coat): After allowing the Basecoat to dry, carefully repeat the above procedures to apply two coats of Topcoat. Very important! The finishing strokes should be done no more than 2-3 minutes after the original paint strokes in a given area. Attempting finishing strokes after this time period has elapsed will cause the appearance of vertical streaks. This is the result of a difference in texture caused by re-rolling coating which has begun to dry! UNLIKE BASECOAT, THE TOPCOAT LAYERS MUST NOT BE SANDED OR ABRADED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Step 5 - Ultra Black: Your Goo Kit includes a 250mL jar of Ultra Black, a specially formulated light absorptive coating, and a foam applicator brush. This is to permit the creation of an optional black border around your screen. The simplest method of creating a border is to purchase pre-cut wood trim at your local hardware store, coat it with the Ultra Black and install it around your Goo viewing surface. If you wish to apply Ultra Black directly to your wall, use a good quality painter's tape and mask out an area 2-3 inches around the perimeter of the viewing area and then apply the Ultra Black with the provided foam applicator. The topcoat surface must be thoroughly dry before applying masking tape (minimum 24 hrs). After allowing 4-6 hours for the Ultra Black to dry, slowly and carefully remove the painter's tape covering the border.

Curing Times: The product can be used immediately after rolling or spraying and will look very good after the first day, but its performance will continue to improve for up to 3 months by which time The acrylic mixtures should be fully cured and clarified.

Following these instructions when applying Screen Goo will give you a uniform high-performance screen surface that will look fantastic for many years to come. Sit back and enjoy, you won't believe your eyes!
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Spraying Instructions:

Surface preparation: Please ensure that the surface to be coated is clean and grease-free. The smoother the surface the better finished product will be.

Porous surfaces such as drywall, gyproc, and wood based materials such as plywood, particle board, MDF, should be sealed with a flat, white latex primer prior to applying Screen Goo basecoat. Coloured surfaces should also be primed with a flat, white latex.

User preparation: Experienced spray painters will find Screen Goo quite easy to work with. If you've never used a paint sprayer before, please consider doing a rolled application instead. If you'd like this to be your first venture into paint spraying, may we suggest that you take the time to familiarize yourself with your equipment by experimenting with some less expensive coatings in inconspicuous areas, prior to attempting your Goo masterpiece!

Suggested equipment: We recommend using an HVLP and/or pressurized cup spray system employing a gun with a 1.5-2mm tip diameter. The specific type of gun is less important than the user's familiarity with it. It is very important that none of the spray equipment be contaminated with solvent-based coatings or cleaning agents as these will ruin the water-based Screen Goo coatings.

Basecoat: Screen Goo basecoat should be thinned 5-10% by volume with filtered or distilled water prior to a sprayed application. If using a pressurized cup system, set the air/paint mixture in the following manner: Turn off the atomizing pressure. Set the paint tank pressure so that when the trigger is fully depressed the paint stream will travel about two feet. Set the atomizing pressure at a approximately 10X the PSI of the paint tank pressure or enough to completely atomize the coating. If there is no gauge for cup pressure, set the atomizing pressure to a maximum of 44 PSI. For other types of guns, follow the manufacturer's instructions for high solids, water-based coatings.

Keep the gun at a constant 6" - 8" away from the project. Release the trigger at the end of each stroke. Then, depress the trigger and overlap the previous pass by about 1/3. Continue in this fashion for consistent coverage. When the surface is fully and evenly covered, let dry for 30-45 minutes and then repeat the procedure for the second and final coat of basecoat.

Topcoat: Screen Goo topcoat will not require thinning. Follow the same procedure as for the basecoat but allow 45-60 minutes drying time between the two coats of topcoat.
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Troubleshooting
Faint vertical lines or streaks may be visible where your roller patterns overlap. These are not unusual and in almost all cases they will clear up on their own as the coating cures. If you can still see these lines 4-6 weeks after application, please contact us for assistance.

A rolled Goo screen will have a slightly bumpy or "orange peel" texture to it. This is entirely normal. Do not attempt to sand or otherwise smooth the surface as this will compromise the performance of the screen.
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Curing Times:
The product can be used immediately after rolling or spraying and will look very good after the first day, but its performance will continue to improve for up to 6 weeks by which time the acrylic mixtures should be fully cured and clarified.

Following these instructions when applying Screen Goo coatings will give you a uniform high-performance screen surface that will look fantastic for many years to come. Sit back and enjoy, you won't believe your eyes!
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Why Goo instead of typical wall paint?
Wall paint is designed and engineered principally to cover an underlying surface and to provide colour in a room. These are relatively straightforward objectives and they are accomplished by paint manufacturers through the use of an inexpensive dispersion medium (typically, water-based acrylic or an oil-based medium) to which a pigment or pigments are added to provide colour. Usually, relatively small amounts of pigment are used and then supplemented with extenders whose main purpose is to reduce the amount of expensive pigment required to produce the desired colour. This can be done because the quantity of light reflected by wall paint is relatively unimportant.

By contrast, Screen Goo has been specifically engineered to accurately reflect and disperse the complex coloured light patterns produced by video projectors. To that end, Screen Goo starts by employing a premium acrylic dispersion with very low light absorption characteristics and excellent durability. To minimize light loss and to ensure colour fidelity, Screen Goo uses much greater concentrations of pigment than those found in house paint. These pigments are carefully chosen to accurately reflect the full spectrum of colour produced by video projectors as opposed to house paints where the goal is to reflect that portion of the light which produces the single desired colour. In addition, Goo Systems employs proprietary dispersion and pigment treatment techniques to maximize the reflective properties of the pigments employed. These techniques require custom built machinery and are very time and labour intensive.

Lastly, unlike wall paint which involves the application of a single product, a Screen Goo application consists of two different products. Screen Goo basecoats provide an ideal reflective surface to which a diffusive, colour correct topcoat is added. It is the combination of the reflective basecoat and the diffusive topcoat which gives a Screen Goo screen its remarkable qualities of high reflectivity, colour accuracy, wide viewing angles and excellent contrast. The icing on the cake is the very special sense of image depth, or feeling of looking into the picture that only a Screen Goo screen provides.
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Why Goo instead of typical wall paint?
One of the key properties of high quality projected video is contrast. Contrast is defined as the difference between the brightest and darkest portions of an image. The latest generations of digital projectors have very little difficulty in producing high levels of brightness. However, the darker areas of an image, specifically black areas, are a different matter entirely. Black is defined as the absence of light. Any light in a room, even light produced by the projector and reflected from the room's wall and ceilings, will compromise the accurate reproduction of black. By using a neutral grey reflective surface, or screen, the levels of incidental or unwanted light can be significantly reduced without affecting colour accuracy and overly compromising image brightness. Less unwanted reflected light means better black levels, which in turn means enhanced contrast. Unless the viewing room is completely light controlled, including dark, non-reflective walls and ceiling, a grey screen will always provide better black levels and higher contrast than a white screen. Goo Systems' "Which Goo" online calculator will help you decide which of the Screen Goo grey coatings will provide the maximum possible contrast in your room with your projector.
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My projector isn't listed on the calculator, now what?
Simply select "Other" from the projector drop down menu and enter the requested projector specifications. You can then proceed as if your projector was one the models already listed in the projector drop down menu.
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Material Safety Data Sheets & Other Documents

Screen Goo Reference White Reflective Coat
Screen Goo High Contrast Reflective Coat
Screen Goo Max Contrast Reflective Coat
Screen Goo Reference White Finish Coat
Screen Goo High Contrast Finish Coat
Screen Goo Ultra Max Contrast Finish Coat
Screen Goo Reference White +20 Finish Coat
Screen Goo High Contrast +20 Finish Coat
Screen Goo Max Contrast +20 Finish Coat
Screen Goo Ultra Max +20 Finish Coat
Screen Goo Ultra Silver 3D
Screen Goo Ultra Black
Screen Goo Rear Projection

Certificate of Origin

VOC Contents

Fire Rating Test Details

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Product Datasheet & Application Instructions

Reference White - Reflective Coat - Finish Coat
High Contrast - Reflective Coat - Finish Coat
Max Contrast - Reflective Coat - Finish Coat
Ultra Max - Reflective Coat - Finish Coat
Ultra Silver 3D
Ultra Black
Rear Projection

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Damaged ScreenGoo surface?

Here's how to "patch" a Goo screen.

- sand down the affected area, and a few inches either side of it,

- apply two coats of reflective (base) coat to the sanded area

- apply two coats of finish (top) coat over the new reflective coat - apply one coat of finish over the entire screen; this will "tie" the old and new areas of the 
  screen together.

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Can ScreenGoo be used in a swimming pool enviroment?

The answer is "Yes" Any regular ScreenGoo surface with one coat of Goo Rear Projection applied on top of the Finish coat will stand up to any pool environment

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