Swirl Finder Light?

JSFM35X said:
CAUTION

Joe borough this light to my house on the night we polished and coated his windshield. It was dark and he proceeded to show the light output when the Optiglass was drying. My neighbor though there was a UFO landing.

1000 lumens will show you swirls that are on the inside of the sheetmetal. That was super bright.
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The tiny one I have in the photo is 1000 lumen on high 1. It might be small, but it packs a punch!
Accumulator said:
I myself don't always like high-lumen lights for swirl-spotting, but then I'm working with metallics.



Or how much you *need* one until you *don't* carry it ;)

Most of the ones Accumulatorette and I EDC are SureFires or First-Lights, but whatever your preference it can pay to have one (that you're familiar with) on you. Last time I was in a [public place] during an outage, I was the only person there with a light source. Felt like the Pied Piper what with all the unprepared Sheeple...
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I don't like super high lumens when swirl spotting either. It will just end up blinding you on a high mode. One reason I bought the Zebralight is because each high/medium/low is adjustable to my liking. So I can pretty much find a desired output for certain paints and colors.

Exactly! You can get such small lights these days that everyone should have one.
The Driver said:
I will do test shots of the bunch soon, I'm building a new NO cord light stand, portable and up to 10 hours of run time. Around 2000 lumens depending on the setting but swappable up to 15000 lumens depend on which light you run. Min cost I would say will be 100 depending on which stuff you use but we will see.
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Looking forward to it! I hope you do a write up because I HATE fighting cords in my small garage. If I am not running over one I am tangled up lol.

Husky came out with a rechargeable worklight that I would like to have. I think it is roughly 1000 lumens for about $40 which isn't bad.
 
Here's some first hand pictures, I might use a different stand or incorporate it right into an actual tripod being I use it for photography as well.

This is with a Fenix (5500k) an thrunite (4100k), Total is about 2000 lumens on high but in medium mode it's about 1000 which is great an run time should be about 6+ hours without a charge. The Fenix is the UC30 which is rechargeable on the go so you can run it via plug incase of an emergency. The total weight is about 2.5 lbs so it's really, really compact.




Just for fun this is with the Thrunite Tn36 which is around 7000 lumens an 5000k + the Fenix on the right.

 
We use this Coast HP7 light mentioned in the OP and really like it! This thing shows everything.


A few examples on all sorts of paint colors:

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The zoomable light pattern is very helpful, and the light output is great for inspecting paint. I use rechargeable AA batteries (sanyo eneloop).

This thing has taken a beating over the past couple of years and still works fine despite many drops, kicks, etc.

For $20, I would buy 2! Sad I missed the sale actually... I'll have to hunt around to see if they are cheap anywhere else.
 
Oh man, you guys are just *so* good at taking pics that show this stuff!

The Driver- That's a very important point you touched on, having an otherwise dark environment. Utterly critical for me.
 
Accumulator said:
Oh man, you guys are just *so* good at taking pics that show this stuff!

The Driver- That's a very important point you touched on, having an otherwise dark environment. Utterly critical for me.
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Yes, external light sources are a very big deal. Single point light source is always key to getting the best result in correction. I love working in the dark as long as I'm not tripping over wires haha.

My new base for the stand I'm sourcing is actually a bogen mefoto, super high quality and very very adjustable + super compact. The name of the game is dual purpose, as most of us who do this as a job know, pictures are key in showing our work so having a tripod double as a stand is clutch, especially once I show you guys the final result.
 
The Driver- Agree completely on the Point Source Illumination.

And yeah, Bogen Mefoto is quality stuff all right (though my good tripods are Gitzo and Really Right Stuff; I bet I could set them up as light stands if I gave it some thought).
 
The Driver said:
Yes, external light sources are a very big deal. Single point light source is always key to getting the best result in correction. I love working in the dark as long as I'm not tripping over wires haha.
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I like working in the dark as well. But somehow, someway I always find that one wire....
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zmcgovern45 said:
We use this Coast HP7 light mentioned in the OP and really like it! This thing shows everything.

For $20, I would buy 2! Sad I missed the sale actually... I'll have to hunt around to see if they are cheap anywhere else.
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Good to know and I'll have to keep an eye on this for when the price is cheaper.
 
BSkip333 said:
Home Depot has them for $24.97 right now I believe. Also has some Coast headlights marked down fwiw.
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????

The Budget Light Forum (a forum about budget flashlights) was the birthplace of the BLF A6, here. Use the discount code "GBLFA6SE" at BangGood. To get the most out of the light, you'll need a fairly stout 18650. The BLF A6 in 3D tint will clobber anything at Home Depot; anything, and you'll get something with a known color temperature.
 
imported_clintb said:
????

The Budget Light Forum (a forum about budget flashlights) was the birthplace of the BLF A6, here. Use the discount code "GBLFA6SE" at BangGood. To get the most out of the light, you'll need a fairly stout 18650. The BLF A6 in 3D tint will clobber anything at Home Depot; anything, and you'll get something with a known color temperature.
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He is right /\

That said, The thrunite neutron 2c V2 (5000k) an 2n v2 (4000k) are the best bangs for the buck at just under 30$

ThruNite Neutron2C V2 CW Handheld LED Flashlight Max 1040 Lumen With Extension Tube - - Amazon.com
 
imported_clintb said:
????

The Budget Light Forum (a forum about budget flashlights) was the birthplace of the BLF A6, here. Use the discount code "GBLFA6SE" at BangGood. To get the most out of the light, you'll need a fairly stout 18650. The BLF A6 in 3D tint will clobber anything at Home Depot; anything, and you'll get something with a known color temperature.
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That light looks very solid! BLF A6 CREE XPL 1600LM 7/4modes EDC LED Flashlight 18650 Sale-Banggood.com. 1600lm and uses an 18650?!? I might have to get one.
 
XxBoostinxX said:
Have you used ThruNites batteries? I wonder how good they are? I am running an Orbtronics 18650 in my Zebralight at the moment.
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ThruNite, Orbtronic, and anyone else that's selling a cell that's protected is using a cell from either: LG, Sanyo, Panasonic, or Sony. From what I've read, Sony is out of the 18650 game.

If your ThruNite 18650 is this one, then it's probably a Panasonic NCR18650B, with protection added by ThruNite. It's a very good cell.

edit: Here's a good link with current info. 18650 Battery Buying Guide for Vapor Users
 
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imported_clintb said:
That is one heck of a deal on an easily sourced light, and from a company with a pretty decent rep in the flashlight world.

Where'd you find the color temps?
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The CW at the end of the name stands for cool white, the other will say neutral white (Which is what I have).
 
The Driver said:
The CW at the end of the name stands for cool white, the other will say neutral white (Which is what I have).
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Right, but cool white usually tend to be more in the 6000K range. Did you find the color temp published somewhere, is what I'm asking?

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk
 
imported_clintb said:
Right, but cool white usually tend to be more in the 6000K range. Did you find the color temp published somewhere, is what I'm asking?

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk
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No, I usually just read it off the site. I have the neutral white and it is about 4300k dead on. It definitely has some yellow to it.
 
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