DIY Reflective hood

Anyone built a reflective hood for CFLS? I'm just trying to get an idea on what kind of materials I should use... cardboard seems... dumb... so I need some creativity that I smoked away already

i've seen people using half cut out pop cans over the lights,

eh... I'm shooting more for an "all in one" approach. I figured I would use mylar, I just dont know what to attatch it to... I dont want to use cardboard or foil, or pop cans. Thats too dangerous/inefective

get a plastic underbed box, and some krylon flat white spraypaint that is formulated to adhere well to plastic. rough the inside of the tote up a little bit with some sand paper (you dont have to but imo it gets the shiny clear coat off the plastic and the paint bonds better) then go to your local hardware store and purchase some of the sockets with the L bracket on the side, some small nuts and bolts, 4 eye bolts and nuts, some wire, the light socket Y splitters, a power cord, wire nuts, and a small drill bit. choose a pattern to mount the sockets in that will provide adequate coverage for your area, and then screw together the splitters sockets and bulbs, mount the sockets via L bracker and small nuts and bolts, run the wires up through the top and then wire them up like christmas lights to your power cord with the wire nuts, and the put your 4 eyebolts into each of th corners, and string a piece of wire between them (light hangers) and now you have a homemade light reflector for your cfls that doesnt look totally shitty like popcans or tin foil.

I'm about to make one using aluminum flashing (~$8 for a 10"X20' at HD). Still pondering how to make it ridged. Might just throw a few beads into the panels and a few pop rivets for the attachment points..

Sheet metal from Lowe's = $6.95 + tax
2' x 4' Mylar from Hydro Shop = $4.00 + tax
Elmer's Spray Glue from Crafts Shop = $6.95 + tax

Use a couple of clamps to hold it to a 2x4 and bend away!

Spray glue on sheet metal and apply mylar.

Trim excess mylar.

Attach to housing.

Works so well it burns eyes! Sun glasses are recommended!

A Metal Salad Bowl, Some High Gloss White Spray Paint, I Made One For My Metal Hailde Check It Out, Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention Lol

try to put a reflective foil around lights or mirrors

or use a white peice of card

heres the one i made https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/60035-cfl-kc-33-beginning-end-2.html

i made one from a aluminum roasting tin, just go kitchen shopping u will soon find something. peace

Here is what I made. https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/62847-check-out-my-diy-cfl.html


Need to get better mylar so it looks ugly for now.

BigBudBalls said:

I'm about to make one using aluminum flashing (~$8 for a 10"X20' at HD). Still pondering how to make it ridged. Might just throw a few beads into the panels and a few pop rivets for the attachment points..

Click to expand...

Are you going to put any hem's or straight breaks in the metal,flashing will become pretty rigid with a few straight line bends.

If you are not aware of how to break metal flashing without a sheet metal break let me know,you can put nice straight bends & folds in the metal with a utility knife & a 2x4.

You can also "dimple" the metal with a ball peen hammer ,every dimple creates strength,just make sure if you use the dimple method not to strike the metal with the ball peen hammer,instead get anothe, hammer then place the rounded end of the ball peen on the metal then strike it leaving a dimple.

Heres a 100 watt MH I made.