Finding swirls
- Thread starter Evenflow
- Start date
Accumulator
Well-known member
evenflow- The dirt does make it much harder to see the paint's true condition.
Seeing marring on metallics takes a bit of work, but once you get it figured out it's fairly easy. I find that "point source" illumination (like the sun...) is best- some LED lights are OK, halogens can be OK if set up properly, incandescent lights work *VERY* well for me, and then there are pricey options like the 3M SunGun (which I do find very useful).
If you see the flaws in sunlight, or under sodium lights at night, or [whatever conditions] then that's what you need to try to duplicate.
You'll have to experiment with illumination and viewing angles until you find what works best for you (the specific vehicle and its paint, the shop, lots of things factor in). It's no exaggeration to say that I spend as much time inspecting as I do correcting; it might not be as quick as spending a few minutes figuring out what's best for each panel.
I see flourescent tubes reflected in the one pic- while those are OK for certain types of marring (usually texture-related issues), they generally hinder rather than help when it comes to swirl-spotting, so turn 'em off.
Watch that you don't use a light that's so bright it simply "dazzles", making the metallic reflect so brightly that you can't see flaws. In an otherwise dark shop, I often find that a bare 60w incandescent ceiling-mounted bulb works at least as well as most any fancy "detailing light", though the SunGun is the only artificial illumination I've ever tried that can show certain types of minor flaws (e.g., very mild holograms) so for those you simply need to pull it out into the sun (or spend for the SunGun).
Seeing marring on metallics takes a bit of work, but once you get it figured out it's fairly easy. I find that "point source" illumination (like the sun...) is best- some LED lights are OK, halogens can be OK if set up properly, incandescent lights work *VERY* well for me, and then there are pricey options like the 3M SunGun (which I do find very useful).
If you see the flaws in sunlight, or under sodium lights at night, or [whatever conditions] then that's what you need to try to duplicate.
You'll have to experiment with illumination and viewing angles until you find what works best for you (the specific vehicle and its paint, the shop, lots of things factor in). It's no exaggeration to say that I spend as much time inspecting as I do correcting; it might not be as quick as spending a few minutes figuring out what's best for each panel.
I see flourescent tubes reflected in the one pic- while those are OK for certain types of marring (usually texture-related issues), they generally hinder rather than help when it comes to swirl-spotting, so turn 'em off.
Watch that you don't use a light that's so bright it simply "dazzles", making the metallic reflect so brightly that you can't see flaws. In an otherwise dark shop, I often find that a bare 60w incandescent ceiling-mounted bulb works at least as well as most any fancy "detailing light", though the SunGun is the only artificial illumination I've ever tried that can show certain types of minor flaws (e.g., very mild holograms) so for those you simply need to pull it out into the sun (or spend for the SunGun).
If the paint surface is clean it is much easier to see any swirls. Here's a link to a thread about garage lighting, however, there are a number of posts regarding some simple, inexpensive point source lights you can use to find swirls and use as work lights using single diode LED flood light bulbs from Lowes or HD and photography stands. The LED floods with single diodes highlite swirls extremely well.
http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/show-off-your-garage/40239-finally-comprehensive-review-best-bulbs-out-there.html
I believe EcoSmart (HD) has changed their bulbs to multiple diodes, but Lowes carries another brand that uses single diode. It's important to also get 5000K bulbs as the flat white light seems to work the best.
http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/show-off-your-garage/40239-finally-comprehensive-review-best-bulbs-out-there.html
I believe EcoSmart (HD) has changed their bulbs to multiple diodes, but Lowes carries another brand that uses single diode. It's important to also get 5000K bulbs as the flat white light seems to work the best.
brownbob06
New member
I've found the easiest thing to use is the LED on my phone. It can't be used as a work light for obvious reasons but it works fine for checking for swirls after working on an area
Nth Degree
New member
Try moving your light source further away from the car. Also turn off other lights as they can wash out what you are trying to see.
House of Wax
Active member
pwaug said:
This is the exact setup that I use and it works awesome
Accumulator
Well-known member
Don't get too caught up in brightness/lumens. With metallics it's easy to use an inspection light that's *too* bright; the "metallic dazzle" makes it impossible to do a proper inspection.
Accumulator
Well-known member
evenflow- Yeah, that *really* shows things well!
Dan
Well-known member
evenflow said:Alright yea it is a lot easier finding swirls on jet black paint. On an upcoming Lexus detail that is trashed and has been sitting for over a year. No sunlight out but finally figured out my camera settings/brinkmann.
Big difference when setting the f/stop lower higher here.
You've changed the exposure for the above shots shot using the aperture. Aperture controls depth of field and shutter duration. If you used a slower shutter speed on the darker one you'd get similar results.
That said shooting at F8 is probably best for swirls but that will get you to some really slow shutter speeds. Tripod mounted camera and using a piece of tape for a focus point is essential as well.
Accumulator
Well-known member
How does that old saying go.... "F8 and be there".