Hi All,

Quick question for those who have painted their screens (blackout cloth)

Would painting a black border on blackout cloth stretch the fabric in any unusual and horrible way ?

I suppose the alternative (in the event that it doesnt work) is to just paint the 1x3" wood frame black and staple the fabric to the back


Thanks for your answers.

I experimented with some blackout cloth that I painted with several different paints. Both spray and brushed. Neither loosened the fabric, the poaint may in fact tightened it but probably only provided rigidity.

Thanks for the response.

From what I have read so far it does indeed seem to tighten the material some. I guess I will have to try and see what happens.

I'm concerned that the center material will distort to some extent if I paint the border. Seeing how hopefully the paint will be evenly applied around the screen, maybe it will be ok.

have you tried adding black felt along the borders? i know thats what some people did for their screens, but i can't remember who at the moment . I do remember thinking that the results looked quite nice.

I may try felt as well but I'll have to check into prices and everything. I'm trying to keep prices down as much as possible.

Another thought I had was if you could by fabric tape that was wide enough and opaque enough that would work well. I've seen something like this on Ebay and I'm sure the guy was just trying to pass fabric tape off as 'special' screen border material.

Thanks for the responses, I'll just have to shop around to see what exists out there. It seems like most of this project is about coming up with ideas and finding out if parts are actually availiable or exists.

THe amount of felt needed to border a screen would not be very expensive at all. Probably $10 or under. Especially if you get it on sale.

Here is some Duve Pro Fabric Tape. I think this is along the lines of what you were talking about.

Black duct tape works as well