Build Instructions

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• 1

  Getting started

  Get and keep everything clean, including the back of your fabric. When you roll up the screen, the back touches the front, and any dirt will transfer right into the middle of your new screen.
  

  Take the actuator arm off the wiper motor. See what the threads are. (take that nut to the hardware store)

  The threads on mine were metric something or other, and I had everything for the 5/16 threaded rod setup, so I very carefully welded the rod directly to the motor output. This is very hard to get right and I wouldn't recommend it.

  If you could find metric coupler nuts, that would be a better route as later you could then attach to the motor with just that and tighten the threaded rod into the coupler, jamming against the end of the motor shaft. Make sure that whatever direction you pick for your screen to roll up, the motor is on the appropriate end to tighten this joint when you pull down on the screen fabric, or you will regret it. Just dry fit the parts for now. You'll need the rod separate to make the roller for the screen.

• 2

  The weight

  Keeping the screen tensioned is what keeps it flat. I provided the needed tension almost all in the vertical axis with weight.
  

  Take a scrap of your screen fabric, and test how hot you can get an iron on it, before it melts. Three layers, and two are plastic remember. Back off from that temp a little. Hot as you can go without melting or distorting, is what you want.

  Wrap the fabric around your conduit. Mark where it comes to. Add the width of your fusing tape and like 1/4 in. Mark this line across. Remove the conduit.

  Apply your self-adhesive fusing tape along this line. Fold the edge over to meet it. Now tear it all apart and flip it over so your seam is on the back. :)

  Iron the ends, then the middle, then between that at even intervals, until you run out of intervals.  Then iron all the way across. 

  Do not slide or move the iron at all while pressing down as it will cause the tape to 'migrate' while it is hot. Press, lift, move, press...

• 3

  Painting the fabric

  The light block fabric is actually three layers. White on both sides, with black plastic in between, but you are still painting fabric so you may have to experiment to get it right.
  

  Lay your light block fabric out on some hard clean surface. Don't step on it, don't press on it, don't fold at all except to mark off your projector's aspect ratio in pencil, centered, leaving room for one wrap extra at the top to stay on the chain link fence post in the down position. The extra wrap does wonders. Trust me.

  Taping your fabric to the floor outside the view-able area helps greatly. Don't tension it.

  Tape off your viewing area. Completely cover the center with newspaper, tape that down at all joints too. Any over-spray is very noticeable. Paint the border with the black camo (better) or flat black paint. Take your time, light coats. Let it dry. Wipe the finished paint lightly with a towel to remove any residual over-spray.

  Too much paint thickness on the edges, will actually make your finished screen wrinkle in the middle. The edges 'roll up faster' than the middle does from the thickness of the paint! If that happens, reverse your taping and paint the middle flat white in equal amounts. (this has the added benefit that you can touch up any stains, kid's markers, etc with the same flat white paint, and the opposite is not true. Painting too thickly in the middle will not wrinkle your edges. The latest version actually got re-painted with exterior house latex (to cover some marker drawings) as I was out of enamel, and actually exhibits the best behavior I've had to date.

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