DIY Softbox

[Jimi, Jim and Janis]

Hey guys,
Im making my own softbox and I was wondering what color I should spray paint the interior to reflect the most light possible. Should I use silver/chrome paint or gold? Will the gold make the light more tungsten? Thanks for reading

[Q.G.]

To soften the light (soft box, right?), white would be best.

Gold paint would create a warmer tone, yes.

[Nicholas Lindan]

White - a good bright white will reflect 98% of the light. Silver paint is lucky to reflect 40%. Even if you could, you wouldn't want to line the box with mirrors as you would just get hot-spots.

[Jimi, Jim and Janis]

Thanks for your answers. I know white would soften the light, but I wanted the walls of the inside of the softbox to reflect the most light as possible since either way the diffuser will soften the light. Im using a shoemount flash which isnt very strong and loses even more illuminance since I put a softbox in front of it. I just wanted to know which color would let me lose the least amount of light.

[Hexavalent]

Thanks for your answers. I know white would soften the light, but I wanted the walls of the inside of the softbox to reflect the most light as possible since either way the diffuser will soften the light. ...

Have you thought of using reflective windshield shades - the silvery dimpled cardboard things found at hardware/automotive stores - I used one with the aid of duct-tape etc., to make a quasi-softbox for a one-off job. Worked surprisingly well, the ripples/dimples in the 'foil' created enough scatter while still reflecting a lot of light.

[Mike Wilde]

I in the past made one that folded up/came apart - plastic mounted on a 1"x2" wood frame.

I used drafting mylar for the face as the diffuser. I coated the same plastic that would go into the sides with super 77 spray adhesive that I let dry before sticking on the reflector material. I used food service grade aluminum foil that had been gently crumpled then flattened again to get rid of specular highlights. The plastic was stapled to the right part of the frame.

The mylar came from the bin next to the plotter at work. Someone had meant to print a greyed out existing highway road base on paper, and ditched the mylar before their error was caught, I guess. I ended up with about 55' x 3' wide with a light grey plot on it. The soft box sat on the floor, and was 3' wide x 6' tall.

I scrapped it last year after coming through on a craig'slist deal on 3 wescott boxes and a separate deal on rings for the speedo rig I own. It worked well enough for a few years, but it did not travel at all.