ultra black, black 2.0, black 3.0?

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kingbuzzie

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There seems to be a lot of fancy high performance black paints out there since I last touched up or tried to improve a camera. Do as anyone tried any of these high performance blacks in a camera? I know my yashica-mat 12 has problems since it doesn't have any light baffles. I've tried flocking material to some improvement, but these new fancy paints...
 

albada

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Some years ago, I tried adding spices (from the kitchen) to flat black paint, to give it a textured surface to create microshadows, thus reducing reflection of low-angle light. One spice worked reasonably well, but I forget which it was. You might try a medium-textured spice.
In addition, I think stick-on telescope flocking material would work well, and a seller is selling some in the For Sale area of Photrio.
 

cramej

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Black 2.0 and 3.0 absorb something like 99% of light. You really don't have to worry about durability in this application since it shouldn't normally be touched.
 

4season

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I haven't tried Musou Black, but I do have a bottle of Black 2.0. These are typically designed to give best results when sprayed, but at the moment, I lack an airbrush. When applied by brush, Black 2.0 gives me a deep gray similar to OEM paint used in Japanese SLRs. Water-based, so cleanup is easy.
 

AgX

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All these most different materials have benefits and disadvantages...


-) handling/application
-) thickness
-) touch/abrasion resistance
-) particle release
-) longevity
 

AgX

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Paint matting-particles are so small that they hardly are more of an issue than hard dust getting in from the outside.


A problem may arise if these surfaces are rubbed in the use of the device. Here a massive release could take place, or the surface characteristics changed.


The offerred materials differ extremely in their design, thus best to evaluate them by samples in own hands.
 
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DREW WILEY

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I do know a thing or two about paint. The more matte the surface is, the more susceptible to abrasion, particle loss, etc. You also create a surface that attracts and holds dust particles more easily, and is harder to clean. Better to go to a specialty coating with a proven track record from an appropriate optical-industrial supplier. I don't have time to check my catalogs today regarding specific products. I have plenty of deep black pro-grade flocking material around; but that's the last thing I'd want INSIDE any optical system.
 

DREW WILEY

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No. But that still leaves certain problems. The high quality backing is not flimsy paper but a vinyl material, hence hypothetically capable of outgassing. Second, any velour like that is going to trap particulates difficult to remove without excessive air-blasting. The sprayed-on "papilli" inside certain especially pricey Hassle-bads was problematic enough.

The problem with some of these newer ultra-black coating options specifically under question is that I simply don't know enough about them. Cameras undergo repetitive internal shocks and vibrations of different frequencies. And out in the field, they also tend to experience serious swings in heat, humidity, etc, impacting expansion/contraction characteristics, both in the short term and long run. How much of this has been actually tested for in actual camera usage? I wouldn't want my gear being the first guinea pig. If it were a something I really needed to do, I'd ask one of my younger friends getting an advanced degree in Materials Science at nearly UC Berkeley, to see if they know of any comparable testing.

And the mention of anything water-based ... what is the binder or vehicle? Most water-based coatings come out somewhat electrostatic due to acrylic binders, attracting random particles of dust and so forth. That's not good either. One more thing I'd want to deeply research first. I takes a lot of work just to find a fast-drying, quickly-outgassing black darkroom paint that isn't electrostatic. You need to know the specific formulation, not just the marketing category.
 
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