Got A Garage! Now I Need Stuff!

A

audipower

New member
Just bought a house so now I have a garage. Finally! I normally do my high end cars at there garages, due to the don't like them leaving there home. But I get quit a few people that want to drop there cars off for the weekend and at that time I didn't have a garage to protect the car during detailing.

Now I need to outfit it. I got some nice benches set up. Is it true that halogen lights are the best to see imperfections on paint? I seen Sears has 500 watt halogen lights on a portable stands for only $15. I already have flurocent lights on all three sides. I was going to get a halogen bulb for over top. It's cool, because it looks like a regular bulb but it has 3 halogen bulbs in it. You can have it at three settings, 50 watts, 100, and 150. So am I just wasting my time and halogen isn't the best?

Any other cool ideas? I'm going to get one of those seats that are low so I don't have to bend down when I'm detailing.

I'd appreciate your guys input. Always have great ideas.
 
Nothing like having your own garage. A rollaround table is nice to have, an overhead reeled extension cord, a fridge with beer, music...
 
audipower- While not a pro, my shop is set up better than many pro shops I've been in (and better than the one I used to have), so I'll toss out my $0.02.



Halogens are OK for spotting fine marring, and are *much* better than fluorescents (IMO if you can see it under fluorescents it's pretty awful). But a 150W rating isn't all that much and one bulb won't cover the whole vehicle very well. I have three incandescents over each "bay" in my shop (that's in addition to all the fluorescents) and each one is 300W. I see stuff under them that I don't see (at least not easily) even under (literally) thousands of watts of halogen light. Incandescents just seem to work better for spotting flaws. If *I* were setting up your shop, I'd get a few high-wattage incandescents over your polishing area and stick to portables for the halogens. IIRC, you have a silver Audi. Heh heh, you'll never see it the same way after you inspect it under high-wattage incandescents. They sure changed how I view marring! Previously "perfect" cars now look like nearly hopeless "before" examples and I've never had anything show up later that I souldn't spot under these lights (except for some rotary holograms that I could only see in natural sunlight).



Cheap/old-fashioned "trouble lights" with, again, high-wattage incandescent bulbs, are also great for spotting marring. IIRC that's what Bill D uses these days. They usually have clamps on their handles so you can clip them to benches/carts/etc. for hands-free use. Fluorescnet trouble lights are good for general illumination but I don't see flaws with them.



For the portable halogens, I have both cheapies and fancy Sears ones. No actual difference in functionality (no big diffs in reflectors/housings/etc.). Just make sure you get ones that have the range of adjustments you need- it's actually harder to tilt the heads to just the desired angle with my fancey Sears one. The more options as to light output the better, but again, it's not a biggie to have a bunch of different settings since I seem to use the max almost all the time anyhow. I'd much rather have cheap lights with 1000W of output than fancy ones with 500W.



The rolling table is another great idea. Even just a cheap rolling work cart can be invaluable. It's a great place to park your stuff (and clip that trouble light) as you work your way around the vehicles. And I also find creepers and creeper seats to be invaluable. A floorjack is handy to raise cars up enough to clean wheelwells and undercarriages and even just to get to lower areas better. All this stuff takes up floorspace, but IMO it's worth it.



I predict that once you get the shop set up the way you want it you'll want to do *all* your detailing there!
 
Thanks AGAIN!:bow Accumulator! You always show up when I need ya.

I've seen those incandescent lights at home depot. I'll try to find one that holds 3x300 watt bulbs and then I'll get a 500 watt portable halogen. Oh you know I have a creeper for my handicaped back. It has cool drawers underneath and armrest incase I get tired and need a nap.
 
Accumulator is right on with the incandescants showing flaws better than halogens. I don't have a shop, but I use a cheap tripod mounted 2x500 watt halogen for general lighting (if needed at night) I got at WalMart for $30. The lights can even be taken off the tripod and set on the ground if you don't need the added height. All in all it's a good setup for general lighting, and being portable is a big plus for me. But to see flaws, I use a drop light with a 100 watt incandescant bulb. Looking from various angles with the bulb close to the surface, flaws will literally jump off the paint and smack you in the face. Unfortunately by the time you recover, they are right back on the paint and have to be polished out. You can pick up a basic drop light (or trouble light as some call them) for very cheap at Wal Mart. Even if you have a shop, a portable incandescant light source like a drop light can't really be beat for finding flaws.



Dave
 
Gotta agree there. I'm not a professional detailer but I've also noticed my 200w incandescent shows defects way better than 1000w of halogen lighting I've got in my garage.

During the day, I use a handheld 150w spotlight to look for defects that don't really show up under sunlight.
 
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