Blacking Out a Window Without Looking Like A Meth Lab

NortheastPhotographic · Aug 11, 2020

I am perfecting my darkroom in a 2 car garage. It has some decently sizable windows for the space... Obviously, I need to black them out.

I purchased these: https://blackoutez.com

The material is great! Totally blacked out, but the velcro at the edges leaks in light at the edges. I have sort of patched around it, but it looks terrible. Just a mess of tape and black out scraps.

Any ideas for a classy looking black out solution? I need halp. Got a wife with standards.

Renato Tonelli · Aug 11, 2020

You could put 5-inch widths of Plywood 1/4 inch thick all around to create a baffle; install pull-down shades Between the window and the black-out material.

NortheastPhotographic · Aug 11, 2020

Renato Tonelli said:
You could put 5-inch widths of Plywood 1/4 inch thick all around to create a baffle; install pull-down shades Between the window and the black-out material.

Probably a good idea... However I'd like to avoid plywood as it's expensive and you need to spend a lot of time cutting and measuring,... I'll definitely keep it in mind however as an option.

voceumana · Aug 11, 2020

If I were doing this, I'd buy inexpensive vinyl blinds, mount them inside the window casement and close them. Put the blackout material on top of the casement. Then to the outside world, it just looks like blinds that are closed.

If you've already sized the blackout material for direct application; do the same blind treatment, and mount cleats just inside the casement and in front of the blinds, and attach the blackout material to the cleats. That way you get the baffle effect of the cleats but get the look of the blinds from the outside. On the inside, if you want to hide the look, just put up a bulletin board in front of the window. It would be useful anyhow.

MattKing · Aug 11, 2020

You could try putting Boston Red Sox banners in the blacked out windows .

eli griggs · Aug 11, 2020

I used rubberized white, blackout curtains liner, with Velcro, and had the same issues with some areas, and machine sewing stiches looking like tiny machine gun holes.

I used black gaffers tape, plus I left a couple of extra edges on each of the four sides of blackout cloth to serve as a built in baffle, which worked perfectly.

The extra material/baffles is the real key to getting a light proof fitting, once it's installed with sewn on Velcro and thick gaffers tape, which is no light proof.

Just do no use to foil or cardboard on the exterior side and you'll be fine.

IMO.

ic-racer · Aug 11, 2020

I installed a blackout blind. It was extremely difficult to find these. Lots of ads on the internet but no one actually sells them. It took months of searching.

mshchem · Aug 12, 2020

Get some hanger bolts, lag screw/machine screw combo. Install the hanger bolts lag screw into the inside of the window frame every 10-12 inches. Get 1/4 inch masonite hardboard and some decent weather stripping. Drill holes for the machine screw to come through the hard board. When you want it dark slap up the hardboard on the inside of the garage with the weather strip between the window framing and the hardboard, apply wing nuts tighten until dark.
That way you can take it on and off quickly.
My wife, must have been close to 20 years back, wanted me to put curtains or some crazy thing to hide a blacked out window. She required black fabric covering on Oak plywood? She didn't want the neighbors to see the oak.
I have found a low dose of Valium or other mild tranquilizers come in handy during these times.

Leave up your black out so your wife doesn't require a paint job or curtains to hide the masonite.

mshchem · Aug 12, 2020

ic-racer said:
I installed a blackout blind. It was extremely difficult to find these. Lots of ads on the internet but no one actually sells them. It took months of searching.

Nice with those old school speakers looks like a hip Batchelor pad.

eli griggs · Aug 12, 2020

The curtain liner I use, with the rubberized side, is a regular item at "Jo Ann's Fabric" shops and unless you need it today, I suggest you buy it on special or with a coupon, as I've seen it normally at about $9.U.S. peraper 54"a yard.low as about $4.50 U.S., on sale.
Jo Ann's is online and has stores in a number of location, and, IIRC, a popular show on PBS Stations.

You might consider making a celling to floor blackout, heavy cloth curtain with this material and a valance and hanging of the same blackout curtain, wider than the window, enough to hang naturally, with no division in the middle.

Also, I may be wrong but I seem to remember Walmart blackout fabric was thinner and a lighter weight, no a good sign, IMO.

Tom Kershaw · Aug 12, 2020

Is this area directly part of your darkroom? - No issues with light from the iMac?

ic-racer said:
I installed a blackout blind. It was extremely difficult to find these. Lots of ads on the internet but no one actually sells them. It took months of searching.

eli griggs · Aug 12, 2020

I believe he was showing his solution to a request by his wife, in a space other than a darkroom.

This looks to be the 'blinds' in a full frame affair, and possibly motor driven or am I at the wrong end of the stick?

Eli

eli griggs · Aug 12, 2020

eli griggs said:
I used rubberized white, blackout curtains liner, with Velcro, and had the same issues with some areas, and machine sewing stiches looking like tiny machine gun holes.

I used black gaffers tape, plus I left a couple of extra edges on each of the four sides of blackout cloth to serve as a built in baffle, which worked perfectly.

The extra material/baffles is the real key to getting a light proof fitting, once it's installed with sewn on Velcro and thick gaffers tape, which is no light proof.

Just do no use to foil or cardboard on the exterior side and you'll be fine.

I just realized this will no do for a picky wife, sorry, but I'll leave it up for others, see my suggestion below and keep WWII window curtains in mind.

IMO.

bernard_L · Aug 12, 2020

mshchem said:
Get some hanger bolts, lag screw/machine screw combo. Install the hanger bolts lag screw into the inside of the window frame every 10-12 inches. Get 1/4 inch masonite hardboard and some decent weather stripping. Drill holes for the machine screw to come through the hard board. When you want it dark slap up the hardboard on the inside of the garage with the weather strip between the window framing and the hardboard, apply wing nuts tighten until dark.

A drawback is the machine screws protruding from the frame when the blackout is not in use. I used a similar wood/metal combination, except with a female metal thread; Just to be clear because I don't know the exact name in English:

Billy Axeman · Aug 12, 2020

bernard_L said:
A drawback is the machine screws protruding from the frame when the blackout is not in use. I used a similar wood/metal combination, except with a female metal thread; Just to be clear because I don't know the exact name in English:
View attachment 252215

Rampa nut, Rampa head screw insert, Rampa muffle screw insert, there are many variants.

Frank53 · Aug 12, 2020

NortheastPhotographic said:
I am perfecting my darkroom in a 2 car garage. It has some decently sizable windows for the space... Obviously, I need to black them out.

I purchased these: https://blackoutez.com

The material is great! Totally blacked out, but the velcro at the edges leaks in light at the edges. I have sort of patched around it, but it looks terrible. Just a mess of tape and black out scraps.

Any ideas for a classy looking black out solution? I need halp. Got a wife with standards.

In another forum I visit, there was a post called “
Blacking Out Meth Lab Making it Look Like A Darkroom”

Tom Kershaw · Aug 12, 2020

NortheastPhotographic said:
I am perfecting my darkroom in a 2 car garage. It has some decently sizable windows for the space... Obviously, I need to black them out.

Have you planned a layout yet for the darkroom?

lecarp · Aug 12, 2020

NortheastPhotographic said:
I am perfecting my darkroom in a 2 car garage. It has some decently sizable windows for the space... Obviously, I need to black them out.

I purchased these: https://blackoutez.com

The material is great! Totally blacked out, but the velcro at the edges leaks in light at the edges. I have sort of patched around it, but it looks terrible. Just a mess of tape and black out scraps.

Any ideas for a classy looking black out solution? I need halp. Got a wife with standards.

Two options
#1. Remove troublesome wife and nail some plywood over those windows.
#2. Move to Florida, our hurricane shutters remain constantly deployed these days.

Ariston · Aug 12, 2020

Just put a dimly lit poster of a hottie undressing on the outside facing side of the plywood and no one will complain.

jim10219 · Aug 12, 2020

How dark do you need it? I have a similar setup in my office. The light leaks in through the Velcro, just like yours. I have a blackout curtain over the window too, that I can draw. Those two combined make it dark enough to expose and develop paper and load film. It looks dark at first, but as your eyes adjust, you begin to notice light reflecting off the back of the curtains and onto the wall. It's not much, but it's enough to scare me off from trying to try develop sheet film in there. I have an interior bathroom for that, anyway. That room gets dark enough to make you hallucinate. It's not roomy enough to fit a 4x5 enlarger in and still be able to maneuver yourself around it, which is why I have this second room set up. Anyway, it works fine for pretty much everything short of tray developing film. I might even be able to develop sheet film in there. I haven't tried. But the bathroom has running water, which is also a big plus. In the office, I generally just get stuff to the wash stage, and then let them soak in a tray until I'm done, and then move them over to the print washer, which I set up in the bathroom. It's not a great system. But it's an economical one.

cramej · Aug 12, 2020

You could use black plexiglas secured with velcro or double sided foam tape. From the outside, it will look like a dark window. Inside, you can install black felt strips around the perimeter of the plexiglas to eliminate light leaks. I low-melt hot glued felt strips around the door frame of my bathroom darkroom in a similar fashion to block light.

Donald Qualls · Aug 12, 2020

cramej said:
You could use black plexiglas secured with velcro or double sided foam tape. From the outside, it will look like a dark window. Inside, you can install black felt strips around the perimeter of the plexiglas to eliminate light leaks. I low-melt hot glued felt strips around the door frame of my bathroom darkroom in a similar fashion to block light.

Don't depend on this if you plan to load IR film. Black plexi is almost as transparent as clear glass below about 700 nm.

NB23 · Aug 12, 2020

Ahhhhh, finally a job for useless 120 backing paper that we like to keep just in case.

The backing paper is thin, totally blackout and in good size. You could carefully place the paper where you have the light leaks.

NB23 · Aug 12, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
Don't depend on this if you plan to load IR film. Black plexi is almost as transparent as clear glass below about 700 nm.

Glue/tape/affix/stick 120 backing paper over it. Easy solution and 100% blackout, guranteed.

mshchem · Aug 12, 2020

bernard_L said:
A drawback is the machine screws protruding from the frame when the blackout is not in use. I used a similar wood/metal combination, except with a female metal thread; Just to be clear because I don't know the exact name in English:
View attachment 252215

Perfect! ! I have used those before. Some type of "insert"

Blacking Out a Window Without Looking Like A Meth Lab

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