White Aluminum For Grow Light Hood?

[Mack Mittens]

Hello!

I am about to take on my first grow and was wondering if using white aluminum trim coil would be a good reflective material for my diy-cfl-light-hood. I remodel homes and have plenty of it laying around so I was considering using it to make my own reflective light hood. I’ve seen posts on other forums suggesting to use aluminum venting duct, white painted wood, white plastic, etc. so I’d like to use something I already have if possible. The material is used for a variety of things, but I typically use it on window, door, and garage trim; however, I’m uncertain of it’s reflective ability.

Any insightful feedback is appreciated.



Happy Growing,



Mack Mittens

 

[Scientific]

Hey MM -- I'm curious about "white aluminum." Do you mean aluminum with a coating (like paint or vinyl or?) or aluminum that has been treated somehow so it has an oxidized surface or something?

In any case, if it's bright white in color, I'll guess that it's going to reflect enough to be useful.

Something that really surprised me is that white paint can reflect almost as well as shiny aluminum foil, the difference being that foil has a "specular" (mirror-like) reflection but a plain white surface reflects light in a more diffuse way.

 

[Mack Mittens]

Thanks for the reply Scientific -- By "white aluminum" I meant the ladder, it's a metal that has been treated to allow paint to adhere to it by the manufacturer. But I also was surprised by how paint can be more reflective than aluminum foil. Maybe the trim coil will be the best of both worlds: aluminum and white.