Thinking to spray white to my beauty dish.  I am not sure if I need a photographic white, since I can easily do a color balance in the spot.

You might look into a matte white paint containing titanium dioxide.

Thanks.  But I thought titanium dioxide is always the main ingredient in white paint, even non-diary creamer uses it to give a white color like diary cream.  LOL

I used a Krylon flat white on mine.  Seemed to work fine.  I didn't really put a lot of thought into it though.

What is "photographic" white?

I don't know if I'd worry about it too much.  Grab some good quality matte spray paint like Krylon.  I'm sure it's pretty close a neutral white.  And if it's the main light a custom white balance will take care of any off shift.  I mean, every modifier out there puts out a slightly different tone, if only a few hundred degrees this way or that from other ones.

The only thing I would worry about is whether to use a paint and primer all-in-one, or use primer, sand, and then paint.

I'd probably go the latter route, but I do have a carpenter friend who likes to remind me that I always take the more complicated route, and do dumb shit by hand when I could just call him up and borrow his power tools. So maybe I'm not a good barometer.

That said, you do need to use 2-3 thin coats, and sand between them. You probably also want to rig up a system to hang it face down, so any drips fall towards the front, and are easier to sand out.

If you have any inconsistencies in the light, the actual white balance of the paint is going to be way down the list of likely causes. Painting too thickly will cause streaks or drips, and may even lead to cracked paint. Not using a primer will result in paint flaking off. Handling the inside of the dish will result in fingerprints, and the oils will eventually turn the edges yellow. Coating the dish with poly, lacquer, or spray epoxy(if you can even still get it) will make the dish extra yellow if your coats are too thick - like actually yellow, not 'WB is off a little' yellow. And again, possible cracking and flaking.

If you take your time, and build up the coating slowly, with sanding and cleaning between coats, any good-quality paint and finish is going to be as good as any other one. If you don't go slowly, the quality of the paint is irrelevant - they'll all give you shitty results.

Krylon has never let me down. They also offer a number of non-yellowing lacquers and polys that aren't quite as tough as the regular stuff, but won't cause WB issues if applied thinly and evenly.

I've been painting a lot lately and most white paints are not really white. What I'm using now when I need a true white is Montana Gold, Shock White Pure. It's flat and photographs true white. I honestly have no idea how it holds up in the long run but Montana Gold is the best(and most expensive) paint I've ever used. Nothing I've used it for so far has faded or changed colors on me.

I got my answer:

This is what I am looking for
Rosco Off Broadway Paint White White 55OB5351
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BOU … 0YZZKUP4FG

Just making sure you're aware that Rosco's Off Broadway is not a spray paint.  It's a good white, but since you were specifically asking for a spray paint I figured I'd point that out.

-Chris

Yes, I do.  No cheap, but it is water-base paint to boot. 

You might want to consider not using the modelling light if you've painted the dish - the modelling light can heat up parts of the dish quite a lot and potentially damage the paint and/or cause nasty fumes or even burn.

Alternatively, look for a paint that's rated for high temperatures.

I know someone who wanted to paint the outside of their beauty dish (they wanted matte black instead of grey) and they got a recommendation to use a paint that's designed for painting car engines - the idea being that engine paint is rated to hundreds of degrees. Seemed to work just fine. Sadly, I don't know if engine paint comes in photographic white