Gross old scrim and how to paint it

[CynicWhisper]

Okay, so my school is doing Beauty and the Beast and my director wants a scrim wall that will be transparent when we light it from the inside. However, the only scrim we have has already been painted. Plus, we need to put a relatively detailed (or at least enough to tell what it is) castle wall pattern on it. I know airbrushing is best on scrim, but I've never done it before.

Any tips on how to make this look like a castle wall, but still be scrim-like? Much appreciated.

[derekleffew]

You will not have satisfactory results repainting a scrim. Scrims are not painted with paint, they're painted with dyes. Unless very diluted, paint tends to clog the holes, turning your expensive scrim into a solid muslin painted drop. We used to use carcinogenic aniline dyes, not sure what the current practice is.

One possible solution is to use a plain white scrim and multiple Rosco ImagePros in SourceFours to project the picture, then dissolve through to the upstage scene and fly out the scrim. Much more expedient/cost-effective to manipulate the picture in Adobe Photoshop and print it onto transparencies, and rent the accessories and if nec. the fixtures, than to paint with dyes a 20' x 40' scrim which will always contain that picture.

[icewolf08]

I have to agree with Derek. Our next show is designed with scrim walls painted with a wallpaper pattern. We have the budget to buy things like the scrim, but our painters have been working on the project since December. It is not easy to paint scrim, and it takes a lot of time and patience. It is also one of those things that works better if you paint up instead of down, so if you don't have a paint frame it could just add to your hassle.