What Reflective Materials Can I Use For My Grow Room?

I have access to polished stainless steel sheets. Does anyone know if this is a good material to use for light reflection?

It would depend of the polish of the SS as to what its reflectivity is but SS is a great material (very expensive to manufacture depending on its grade) but it is environmentally inert as far as exposure of the finished product is concerned. So that alone makes it much better than any plastic (especially PVC based) or most manufactured wall paneling and paint. So if it were me and the material was even reasonably priced, I would use it. It is extremely hard to work with (depending on the grade and thickness). But there is usually scrap value in SS, so its value is sustainable if maintained. Please do not use that Chinese shit Panda Film; it is highly toxic and the Chinese execute people for Cannabis. Fuck the Chinese government and the idiots that buy their shit just to save money and sink the U.S. economy.
 
Use cheap white paintfirst, roll the paint on the wall a few feet at a time than stick the mylar paper onit. paint that attach mylar. works way better than glue or tape or staples. paint dries fast but not so fast you can't make adjustments. I lined my whole closet like that. painted half the wall than rolled on ans smoothed out the mylar and just kept going. the next day when I turned on the fans the mylar was like contact paper and just as quiet. Hope that helps.
 
Use cheap white paint first, roll the paint on the wall a few feet at a time than stick the mylar paper on it. Paint than attach mylar. works way better than glue or tape or staples. paint dries fast but not so fast you can't make adjustments. I lined my whole closet like that. painted half the wall than rolled on and smoothed out the mylar and just kept going. the next day when I turned on the fans the mylar was like contact paper and just as quiet. Hope that helps.
 
I got a windshield reflector at the $.99 store. it looks just like mylar. The one I got is thin but has a foam backside so cutting it up and applying was really easy and the finished job looks pretty clean. I have a super small hydroponic setup and I used the scraps and just placed them on the lid under the plants to reflect light upward.
 
I'm new to this and am going to ask a newb question that I can't find the answer to: why is there so much concern over hotspots? Is it a safety issue, or a matter of detection risk?

Thanks!
 
Hot spots are a safety issue and unevenness of light distribution of light on your plant. Do not use aluminium foil but safety first , not detection, hope this helped!
 
There is an OSB out there with silver finish called thermoboard. We built the sides and ceiling out of this. Works great $14 a sheet at lowes. Floor is 12"x12" reflective white ceramic tile. Basement grow so we acid washed and painted the floor with drylok to make sure nothing was going to get into the grow room like mold or mildew. Fire caulk was used to seal the floor to the walls so incase of dampness or water issues it would have to be pretty uncontrollable before it gets into the room. Hubby is a Union sheetmetal guy so the piping and ventilation is top notch! I have an electric damper for fresh air that is on a timer to bring in prewarmed fresh air into the room for air exchange. Then the air goes through a charcoal filter and the heated air from the lights gets reclaimed back into the living area upstairs to utilize the heat. Seems to be a good set up so far we are in week 6 of our first grow. Started with seeds. I am documenting the growth activity and measurements every 2 days this time to monitor the intake of nutrients and have to keep track fairly closely because of height restrictions due to lower ceilings in my basement. I have a photo journal on my computer to go along with the rest. When I get time I will bring this up to date on here. I am using flora duo a and b for this grow. It seems to be fantastic but I did a summer grow and was blown away by the results...but had to pull it a week or so early due to security reasons and a paranoid hubby who kept boobietrapping the backyard...lol
 
Why do you not use aluminum foil to reflect light onto the plants? Also would you use mirrors?
I'm a novice, one month wise.
 
Why do you not use aluminum foil to reflect light onto the plants? Also would you use mirrors?
I'm a novice, one month wise.

Use white paint. Cheaper and easier to apply. Mylar is really good but exspensive and not so easy to apply unless you do the paint and mylar application. But Paint is cheao and ceiling paint is made to reflect light. Keep your questions going on this site and in a few months you will no longer be a newbie. So many people know what they are talking about but follow a few, everyone has thier secrets and methods. Use the ones that suit you. This is the greatest site with the greatest people so willing to help you.
Winter_season_Grow_in_Hawaii_038.JPG
I live in Hawaii so I just have bugs and people with sticky fingers to worry about. I grow in soil outside so my life is easy so far and I can grow all year. Hawaii is very protective of what bugs come in so I don't have problems like some unfortunate growers have but I still read and learn from here.
Good luck and " Keep it Green" Aloha
Winter_season_Grow_in_Hawaii_040.JPG
Winter_season_Grow_in_Hawaii_039.JPG
Misc_Photos_sept_and_oct_2012_055.JPG
Blueberry_Aug_28_.JPG
My_Plants_and_animals_027.JPG
 
Aloha tokerace, Great idea adding a bit of lysol to the paint. Never heard of that but makes all good sense to me. If and when I start an indoor grow, i will keep that in mind. Great advice. Aloha
 
Why do you not use aluminum foil to reflect light onto the plants? Also would you use mirrors?
I'm a novice, one month wise.

I've used foil before and by far it is just not worth the time. It works but you can get hotspots and it is just a pain in the butt to put up and I was just using it in a small area. With mirrors you get the same problem. Those emergency blankets work, however, they're really thin and let a good amount of light through them.
 
white paint works great plus its cheap and easy to use but be sure it's FLAT white and the whitest white you can find.
 
Hello I started a small grow in my garage I'm in the very hot state of AZ. so put 1 1/2 inch foam board from Home depot on the walls and ceiling for insulation reasons, it has a silver side and a white side. Is the the silver side a good reflector?
It works great for the insulation as i am using an led light, I'm on the flower cycle so i run the light at night and it proved perfect heat supply, during the day I run either an AC unit or I can use a duct that comes of my evaporator cooler (swamp cooler) Which is nice because it also adds some moisture to the dry air.
Sorry to ramble Question is. Has anyone used the foam board from Home Depot or does anyone know how will if at all it will reflect the light?
Thanks Bill
 
Hello I started a small grow in my garage I'm in the very hot state of AZ. so put 1 1/2 inch foam board from Home depot on the walls and ceiling for insulation reasons, it has a silver side and a white side. Is the the silver side a good reflector?
It works great for the insulation as i am using an led light, I'm on the flower cycle so i run the light at night and it proved perfect heat supply, during the day I run either an AC unit or I can use a duct that comes of my evaporator cooler (swamp cooler) Which is nice because it also adds some moisture to the dry air.
Sorry to ramble Question is. Has anyone used the foam board from Home Depot or does anyone know how will if at all it will reflect the light?
Thanks Bill

I've actually heard a lot of good things about the reflectiveness of those boards. If I recall correctly they have boards with a tin foil like paper and one with a duller finish. I think the one with the duller finish works better than the tin foil type but you better dbl check me.
 
The one i got from the home dumpo is a Styrofoam with a white side which has all the printing and the other side is a thin foil it my be Mylar, I don't know. Plants look good, my concern is could I do better with a different material>
bill
 
Back
Top Bottom