Light for detailing

Jesstzn

Jesstzn

New member
In the past I have always done my detailing on good days outside in the shade. I now have a garage and my question is what is the prefered portable light to use when checking your work ( swirls/spiderwebs etc. )



a) Hand held mechanics type flouresent lamp



b) Single or double 500W hallogen lamps



c) Other??





Please only reccommend from experience.



TYIA
 
I have big flourescent and incandescent. It's amazing what you can see under those two different light sources when used individually.



You can never have too much light in a garage!
 
Quote: Light for detailing



~One man’s opinion /observations~



Super Metal Halide (P/N 47821) (1- incandescent light on a separate circuit, the HID take awhile to warm-up) and a portable 4-twin florescent (P/N 13099, all Griot’s Garage)



“You can never have too much light in a garage! tom p. I Agree





~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
Quote: Light for detailing



~One man’s opinion /observations~



This is what my company specified for a recent garage lighting project,



Walls: Interior Acrylic enamels with a low lustre sheen (Reflects well but not blinding) and provides a very durable/ washable surface finish over a good quality primer.

Acrylic Enamel (Griot’s 90081)

Primer (90092)



Floors: Fill in any cracks and remove old paint etc, etch concrete surface with muritic acid before applying two (2) coats minimum

Paint stripper (90028)

Floor Paint (-0011)



Wall Base Moulding: To seal the floor/wall and provide a practical waterproof finish (apply to wall with tape (Tape 1 ½â€� x 160’ rolls, 92455)

Wall Base (92455)



Lighting: 100-foot candles at workbench height (42� from finished floor) recommend metal halide lights

(175W -4250-5000 0 K, provides a ‘warm’ bright white light) over each detailing bay plus incandescent lighting on separate switch as HID have a delayed start.



~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
TOGWT said:


Super Metal Halide (P/N 47821) (1- incandescent light on a separate circuit, the HID take awhile to warm-up) and a portable 4-twin florescent (P/N 13099, all Griot’s Garage)
Click to expand...





Oh, man....hold me back....hold me back.... .:eek:





I've been looking for metal halide for a long time but they're always "professional" grade meaning big $$.
 
Quote: I've been looking for metal halide for a long time but they're always "professional" grade meaning big $$.



~One man’s opinion /observations~



HIDs $190 each (one per bay)+ installation……it’s great when your spending other peoples money though.



~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
I do all my work in the center bay in my garage...I just have the most room that way. I suspect just one MH unit would be adequate. My local Home Depot installed these lights not too long ago....they're sick. :D I've never seen light like that before :eek:



I'd like to find out who the OEM is for Griot's so I can buy that unit for less than $190. Lithonia appears to be one of the prominent mfrs.
 
Correct me if I am mistaken, however I think you may actually see a greater amount of paint problems under those specialty lights compared to what you would normally see in natural daylight conditions.



In other words you may be working much harder to correct something that neither you nor your customer will normally see in natural light.



I have experienced this situation a few times under fluorescent lamps.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
Correct me if I am mistaken, however I think you may actually see a greater amount of paint problems under those specialty lights compared to what you would normally see in natural daylight conditions.



In other words you may be working much harder to correct something that neither you nor your customer will normally see in natural light.
Click to expand...



Sure, I'd totally agree with that and only be concerned about it when working on our own personal cars. :D



It is remarkable when I examine a finish under incandescent light and then switch to the flourescent. One is not necessarily better than the other...just very different as far as what shows up.
 
*I* use high wattage incandescents for swirl-spotting. If I were doing the garage over again I might go with something like the metal halides, but the combo of numerous fluorescents and the 300W incandescents works pretty well. Halogens are nice for some things, but I find I don't use mine all that often. The incandescents ALWAYS show more flaws for *ME*.



Mirrorfinishman- Although we're talking about setting up an artificially demanding situation, IMO it makes it LESS likely that something visible in "real world lighting" will escape our notice.



Also, it helps when working at the just-barely-microscopic level (as in, with low-level magnfication). Sometimes, that "extra" level is what makes ONE "perfectly detailed" car look better than ANOTHER "perfectly detailed car".



I see lighting (or even DETAILING itself) as being like sharpening a knife- for some people, "shaving sharp" is the STARTING point.
 
Since I detail outside (my garage won't allow me enough space along the driver side door) I have two incadescent flood lights over my garage. Believe me, they pick up defects!



But if I need more light, I have a couple floor standing 3 way 150, 300 & 500 watt halogens from Craftsman that I got for $15 each. If I need to raise them, I just put them on top of an upside down 5 gallon wash bucket! I like the floor standing (not on a pole) because they are easy to go mobile with.



Works for me!
 
tom p. said:
One is not necessarily better than the other...just very different as far as what shows up.
Click to expand...



Very true. I take care of a few clients that have either Rolls Royces or Bentleys. And I do most of this work at a nearby authorized Rolls and Bentley repair shop. I'm really not sure of the type of lighting there, it's probably just fluorescent, however it is very difficult to work under those conditions. It's almost like I have to take the finish up to another couple of levels, before I begin to see good results. Nothing like working outside in natural light. It is really different. A real challenge.
 
What I have in may garage is a large 4 bar flourescent light in the front of my garage. Then I added two overhead dual shop lights along side of the car. I also have a super strong flourescent work light that sits on a base that is mounted above my refrigerator. Between all of these lights, I can see any type of spiderwebbing/swirling.



- Anthony
 
I wrote an article on this once.



Diffuse light (lots of lights, bright walls, etc.) is good for seeing dirty spots you missed, wax you forgot to buff off - in general - for seeing every visible surface of the car. It is lousy for seeing specific flaws, such as swirl marks on a section you're trying to perfect. It is also lousy for showing the dust that causes them.



check our http://www.heumann.com/paintcare/viewing.html for some ideas ...
 
Wow, that is a very informative page - excellent job.



What exactly are the specs on that light? I Have one just like it, but it doesn't have the long stand. One of the bulbs is burnt out and I am looking to replace it, and I would very much like to get the one you are using.



How many watts, etc. Thanks!
 
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