Painting one side of glass black for a reflective surface

Does this really work to eliminate double reflections? I've seen good examples of it, but my mind can't grasp the physics of it.

Any tips on what kind of paint? I have my glass and an old can of flat black that i was going to paint up today.

I've never painted it myself, but I've used glass that's already flat black on one side, and there are no double reflections.

I think some inexpensive flat-black spray should do the trick. Let us know how it works.

Can't link directly to the images right now (flickr blocked at the office) but in this thread, I have some of my setups using an IKEA coffee table that's got a glass top that's painted flat black on the underside of the glass:

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=12485619

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=16976143


...that first one is really old, whew

Thanks Nathan. I had seen your posts but thought the IKEA glass was actually tinted glass, as in, the dye was in the glass. I was wondering if I should call a specialty glass shop and have them cut me a piece.

I will definitely pursue the painted glass and report back.

I'm 100% certain that it has a flat black coating on the underside, but I can't tell if the glass itself is tinted.

I assume it's not tinted, since it's ...well, cheap IKEA stuff

ΙΚΕΑ also has glass painted white in the back surface. Makes for very good base for high key photos.

Smoked glass reflects, I bought some smoked glass at a yard sale, it looked like the glass was for a dinning room table.
The glass I have looks like it was spray painted flat black on one side....

IMAGE LINK: http://s1110.photobuck​et.com …47_1_zpscf0eac4​a.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://s1110.photobuck​et.com …0458_zps36d8def​c.jpg.html

I don't know for sure but doesn't all smooth surfaces reflect!

I don't use glass. I use black acrylic perspex. You can get it on Ebay in Uk, not sure about anywhere else. It's quite cheap. It reflects off the top 'first' surface, so there are no ghosting effects as with normal mirror. You can also get a first surface mirror in a similar plastic silver coloured material.

http://stores.ebay.co.​uk …m-/_i.html?_fsub=2003742​7

IMAGE LINK: http://www.macromeiste​r.co.uk …s/Objectivity/i​-mDgzvdP/A

rob ashcroft wrote in post #17411941
I don't use glass. I use black acrylic perspex. You can get it on Ebay in Uk, not sure about anywhere else. It's quite cheap. It reflects off the top 'first' surface, so there are no ghosting effects as with normal mirror. You can also get a first surface mirror in a similar plastic silver coloured material.

http://stores.ebay.co.​uk …m-/_i.html?_fsub=2003742​7

IMAGE LINK: http://www.macromeiste​r.co.uk …s/Objectivity/i​-mDgzvdP/A

Good shot. Subjectively, that reflection seems just a little more subtle than what you get from glass, though the results seem to vary depending on lighting setup and subject matter.

Looks like Perspex is just a UK brand name for acrylic sheet - also brand named Plexiglas, Acrylite, and others.

I've bought other stuff from these guys before (PVC foam for crafting & prop-making), I'm about to get some clear acrylic sheeting for other photo projects. Black sheeting would be interesting too.
http://www.eplastics.c​om/Plexiglass_Acrylic_​Sheet
(edit - ouch, shipping would kill me for big sheets, but I found a local supplier)

For an upcoming project I'm going to try laying a clear acrylic sheet on top of a black cloth, and see what happens - the reflections aren't going to be important for this.

I have a couple of 1200 mm x 600 mm sheets of safety glass that i intended on using at some stage, i just didn't know what for, now i do.

I'm off this weekend so i will hopefully get the chance to spray these, one white and one black, so i will hopefully feed back to the thread with a couple of test shots.

The thing with acrylic is that it scratches quite easily.

My understanding - at least, from a bit of google research this morning - is that acrylic is somewhat scratch-resistant, and can be polished out if it's scratched; Lexan is not scratch-resistant and can't be polished out, but it doesn't shatter or break.


And, you can get acrylic with an abrasion-resistant coating, though this makes it considerably more expensive, and I don't know how it would photograph.

Glass can be scratched too, but I guess it's much more scratch resistant than either of those plastics.

I use a recently deceased Google Nexus 7 tablet for my glassy black surface. Here is an example.

Alveric wrote in post #17412112
The thing with acrylic is that it scratches quite easily.

It certainly does. The stuff I get has a reflective coat on both sides and comes with protective wrap which you peel off. It also attracts a lot of dust. Best way to clean it is with a clean damp cloth.

Test shot complete,

prognosis; positive

Works great. Both of these pieces of glass were found in my basement when i bought the house 16 years ago. I knew they would come in handy one day! They seem a little thicker than the stuff I see in the hardware store these days, not that i think that will matter. I took the time to use a razor blade on the surface to be painted and then cleaned it well with Windex (ammonia based window cleaner). It took 3 or 4 trips back and forth outside and inside to get a good coat of paint. It was a bit windy, i think this added to the number of coats i had to spray on it, and it was cold, which is why i brought it back inside to cure a bit before applying another coat. The wind also blew a little piece of gunk on the fresh paint.

Next time I will wait until it isn't windy and put a piece of white paper under the glass so i can more easily see what I have painted or have missed. I used the cheapest paint i could find, one that was just laying around the basement, only benefit i see that buying something more expensive might bring is faster/more even coat.

Thanks all.

Left: plate glass with no paint but with a black piece of matt board under it

Right: spray painted glass with white paper underneath