Lighting in garage....anyone use incandescent bulbs?

V

VitoB

New member
Greetings fellow detailers,



I am starting to setup my garage for detailing and the first order of business is the lighting. I have been experimenting with some fluorescent tubes and I don't like them. It's so hard to see any defects in the paint, except for RIDS.



Does anyone use incandescent bulbs to light up their garage? I know they show off swirls much better than fluorescents.



Thanks!
 
The best lighting for detailing is Halogens or High pressure sodium. The cost to run these is high, so I use a tripod halogen and just use T-8 high output fluorescents to light the work space. IRC you need tall ceilings for HPS too.



Cheers,

GREG
 
When I am doing correction details to remove swirls, I am using halogen lights on a stand, like everyone else does. The problem is that when I do regular maintenance details, only claying and waxing I cannot even see if I am cleaning the glass properly with my T8 fluorescents.



Is it because I don't have enough lights installed? I have a single car garage, so I don't need to light up a huge space.



I find incandescents are good for showing holograms.
 
96Lude said:
Greetings fellow detailers,



I am starting to setup my garage for detailing and the first order of business is the lighting. I have been experimenting with some fluorescent tubes and I don't like them. It's so hard to see any defects in the paint, except for RIDS.

Does anyone use incandescent bulbs to light up their garage? I know they show off swirls much better than fluorescents.

Thanks!
Click to expand...



In my shop, my customers love my high-bay metal halide lamps. Gosh! All the swirls and other crap are clearly visible.



1. General lighting in the shop.

Overhead fluorescents (using electronic ballast for immediate startup, no flickering and less current consumption) with chrome reflectors to divert light downwards. I use Phillips Lifemax with BrightBoost fluorescent tubes as I feel these offer the brightest and whitest light. It has green rings on each end of the tube. Next mth, I'll be upgrading to LED fluorescent tubes as its even more economical while delivering consistently white light throughout its life.



Paint Correction lighting

Ceiling:

High-bay lights with metal halide bulbs ("ostrich eggs"!). Used only during surface prep. Extremely revealing!

Incandescent bulbs - also very revealing.



Sides: Portable halogens on stands.
 
96Lude- I rely heavily upon incandescent lighting for my final inspections. It's the only way I can get silver/etc. to pass the "all lighting situations, even at night" test. But it's important to use them in an otherwise dark environment.



I have both ceiling-mounted and hand-held ones and I turn out all the other lights when using these. Fluorescent, incandescent, halogen, the SunGun...they all have their places.



And yeah, if I were building the shop now I'd possibly go with Metal Halide, but I'm not tearing the shop apart to redo it :grinno:



I don't think it's the *number* of fluorescents. I have literally dozens of 8' tubes and some things just don't show up under them, period.



Those must be some nasty holograms if they show up under incandescents! I need the SunGun to see such stuff.
 
Accumulator said:
96Lude- I rely heavily upon incandescent lighting for my final inspections. It's the only way I can get silver/etc. to pass the "all lighting situations, even at night" test. But it's important to use them in an otherwise dark environment.



I have both ceiling-mounted and hand-held ones and I turn out all the other lights when using these. Fluorescent, incandescent, halogen, the SunGun...they all have their places.



And yeah, if I were building the shop now I'd possibly go with Metal Halide, but I'm not tearing the shop apart to redo it :grinno:



I don't think it's the *number* of fluorescents. I have literally dozens of 8' tubes and some things just don't show up under them, period.



Those must be some nasty holograms if they show up under incandescents! I need the SunGun to see such stuff.
Click to expand...



What type of incandescent bulbs do you use? Soft white, cool white, regular or compact fluorescents?
 
96Lude said:
What type of incandescent bulbs do you use? Soft white, cool white, regular or compact fluorescents?
Click to expand...



I use 300w (either clear or frosted, doesn't seem to make as big a diff as I'd expected), as "regular" as you can get. Note that not all fixtures will take such high-wattage bulbs, but you can do OK with "dimmer" ones too like 100W. Even the 60w ones in the ceiling mounts in my "non-shop"/regular garage will show marring really well; it's more about the contrast from "point source lighting" than it is about the brightness. So I'd try to get "harsh" lights, not "soft" or "cool", not that I know how much one oughta read into those product names :nixweiss
 
Accumulator said:
I use 300w (either clear or frosted, doesn't seem to make as big a diff as I'd expected), as "regular" as you can get. Note that not all fixtures will take such high-wattage bulbs, but you can do OK with "dimmer" ones too like 100W. Even the 60w ones in the ceiling mounts in my "non-shop"/regular garage will show marring really well; it's more about the contrast from "point source lighting" than it is about the brightness. So I'd try to get "harsh" lights, not "soft" or "cool", not that I know how much one oughta read into those product names :nixweiss
Click to expand...



I believe the maximum wattage I can get locally is 200W for an incandescent bulb. The soft white are more yellow in color, like what you would install in your home. The cool white are more white/blue in color. I think what I will do is wire up all the fluorescent lights on a single switch for general lighting and then the incandescents on a separate switch to verify for defects in the paint.
 
Barry Theal- I could get plenty envious of your new shop :D



96Lude said:
... I think what I will do is wire up all the fluorescent lights on a single switch for general lighting and then the incandescents on a separate switch to verify for defects in the paint.
Click to expand...



That's the kind of setup I have; three switches for the banks of incandescents and five for all the fluorescents (heh heh, yeah...lots of lights).



FWIW, my local Lowe's has 300w bulbs, though I got a case of 'em cheaper online.
 
Accumulator said:
Barry Theal- I could get plenty envious of your new shop :D







That's the kind of setup I have; three switches for the banks of incandescents and five for all the fluorescents (heh heh, yeah...lots of lights).



FWIW, my local Lowe's has 300w bulbs, though I got a case of 'em cheaper online.
Click to expand...



How many fluorescent tubes do you have? Sounds like you could light up a baseball field at night. LOL.



In all honesty, I am thinking of not installing fluorescent lighting at all. I just don't see the benefit for detailing. I can barely see if I missed a spot when removing wax with the fluorescent lights.
 
96Lude said:
How many fluorescent tubes do you have? Sounds like you could light up a baseball field at night. LOL.



In all honesty, I am thinking of not installing fluorescent lighting at all. I just don't see the benefit for detailing. I can barely see if I missed a spot when removing wax with the fluorescent lights.
Click to expand...



Well, I *do* have a pretty big shop...never enough lights for me though!



I basically just light the fluorescents for general-purpose illumination, though they sometimes do a surprisingly good job of showing certain things like level of gloss or certain "texture" issues.
 
gigondaz said:
In my shop, my customers love my high-bay metal halide lamps. Gosh! All the swirls and other crap are clearly visible.



1. General lighting in the shop.

Overhead fluorescents (using electronic ballast for immediate startup, no flickering and less current consumption) with chrome reflectors to divert light downwards. I use Phillips Lifemax with BrightBoost fluorescent tubes as I feel these offer the brightest and whitest light. It has green rings on each end of the tube. Next mth, I'll be upgrading to LED fluorescent tubes as its even more economical while delivering consistently white light throughout its life.



Paint Correction lighting

Ceiling:

High-bay lights with metal halide bulbs ("ostrich eggs"!). Used only during surface prep. Extremely revealing!

Incandescent bulbs - also very revealing.



Sides: Portable halogens on stands.
Click to expand...



Gigondaz has got the lighting system down pat. Those are the most effective combinations for detailing work. Simple but effective
 
Unfortunately metal halide are not an option for me, I only have a 9ft high ceiling in my garage.



I find fluorescent lights are not even good for washing a car in the garage. I find they don't even show if I missed a spot with my wash mitt very well. Unless you need a ton of them.
 
Lude.....



I think you are just using the wrong Fluorescent lights, my garage is lit up like the portal to heaven. HO fluorescent lights are amazing, only slight halos are hard to see.



While MH are best, they cannot work in low ceilings.



Cheers,

GREG
 
Alexshimshimhae said:
may i ask why the MH have to be on over 10ft ceilings?
Click to expand...



We most often talk about High-Bay Metal Halides.

These are suitable when the ceiling > 20' - warehouses and other places with high ceilings.



If your ceiling is < 20' high, you can use Low-Bay Metal Halides. The diameter of the "metal cone" is a bit bigger and it might hv a lense/refractor to spread the light over a wider area.



The metal halides (high intensity discharge) are very bright, and IMO, too bright is not necessarily good as it masks some paint defects. It's the characteristic of the metal halide's light that reveals most defects....not the brightness.



If you wanna install metal halides, it does not mean only HB or LB.

Halides are now available in flat, squarish and compact housings (normally white), can be mounted in various positions and angled.
 
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