Where to get proper lights - halogen or xenon?

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imported_Lightman

New member
I've looked at both home depots and lowes' websites, and none of them have much in the way of work lights. It seems almost everyone here has the double halogen or xenon lights on some sort of stand, that they are able to shoot at a panel and show swirls/corrections... where are you guys getting these?? Thx



Kinda funny that a guy in the lighting business is asking this question eh? :) We are only residential though ;)
 
Lightman said:
I've looked at both home depots and lowes' websites, and none of them have much in the way of work lights. It seems almost everyone here has the double halogen or xenon lights on some sort of stand, that they are able to shoot at a panel and show swirls/corrections... where are you guys getting these?? Thx



Kinda funny that a guy in the lighting business is asking this question eh? :) We are only residential though ;)
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These are similar to the ones I have...they keep you warm too! Mine go up to 1200 watts though. Just go to the stores, they all carry lights like that. Try Sears too.



http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=22565-290-HDS1000&lpage=none
 
Nice, thanks...not sure how I missed that on their site. I would prefer xenon to halogen as they are much cooler but that will work and the price isn't too bad.. thx.
 
I got mine at Harbor Freight. I think Sears has some for nearly the same price I paid, around $25-30.



I also recently bought a 1.25 million candle-power twin-beam halogen portable flashlight similar to the Brinkmann that's mentioned here occasionally. I found mine at Big Lots for $13. It's shaped roughly like a pistol with a trigger switch.
 
I have a 3 million candlepower spotlight that I have for camping and whatever, however when I tried it in the garage on a panel of paint, the reflection was so bright I think I blinked for a half hour...wow, bad idea!
 
You can buy a setup like this for less than $20 at Pepboi, etc.



New_Lamp_1.JPG
 
When it comes to the halogens, I kinda prefer my cheapie one over my fancier (and much more expensive) Sears one. Must be some difference in the reflectors or something, but I just see stuff like marring better with the cheap one, and it's a crappy, used and abused thing that makes Tom P.'s unit look really fancy and high-end. So I don't think I'd automatically go with something fancy and expensive.



Where are you folks getting your Brinkman/Xenon lights these days? It's about the only kind of lighting I have yet to acquire (nah, I'm not getting metal halides) so maybe I'll look into one.
 
Accumulator said:
Where are you folks getting your Brinkman/Xenon lights these days? It's about the only kind of lighting I have yet to acquire (nah, I'm not getting metal halides) so maybe I'll look into one.
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Here you go sir!
 
tom p. said:
You can buy a setup like this for less than $20 at Pepboi, etc.



New_Lamp_1.JPG
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Pop a sand bag or sumtin on that tripod.

How many times people have said their PC cord yanked the tripod down on their car :mad:
 
You can find the Brinkman dual Xenon at Pepboys for about $30. Thats where I got mine.



edit-



Oops.. I didnt read the whole post. :o Didnt notice you wanted a light and stand dealio.
 
I guess it doesn't have to have a stand and could be xenon instead of halogen..I don't really have a preference there aside from knowing xenon burns a lot cooler than halogens.. As far as having a stand goes - I guess that's not completely necessary either, and would save garage space to just have the portable/hand held. I guess i was just a little leary after nearly blinding myself with the 3 million candlepower spotlight I tried. Are these brinkmann's not blindingly bright?
 
I'd think of the Brinkmans as being a detailing-useful type of flashlight.



The halogens on stands make for good general illumination when polishing. Not the *best* IMO for spotting marring, and yeah they get hot, but they're good overall lights for that specific task. Just turn them off and use something else (I use high-wattage incandescents) for final inspections.



I often had unpleasant discoveries at night under certain lighting (gas stations, parking lots) until I started using the incandescents.



I'd get a halogen on a stand and the Brinkman and see if that shows everything. My local Lowe's had the high-wattage-rated incandescent work lights (cheap, awful looking things but they work for this application) for about $25. I use a 300W bulb in mine but Bill D uses 200W and says that works fine.



Whatever you use, you gotta play around with the illumination angle and distance, and also your viewing angle, until you find what shows the flaws the best. On colors like silver it can be a royal pain.
 
Hi all,

This is the work light that I got for myself a couple of weeks ago. I did a lot of searching and I thought this one would meet my needs the best. Notice that the lights are detachable and ride on their own stand, or you can use the tripod. I found it useful to detach when I am working on side panels or detailing wheel wells/ suspension, and it keeps my butt warm! Accumulator is right in saying that while these type of lights do work well, you dont really see all the defects. I am going to get a brinkman this weekend to help out with that!



This light can be found at Meijer for around $30 and seems a little bit better built than some of the others in this price range... notice how the lights detach and are on their own stand.

DSC03279.jpg
 
I'm not clear on the Brinkmann. It looks like a spotlight vs. a flood light. I am understanding that?



I find the light from those halogens way TOO harsh, too hot. They're not terribly helpful apart from using them as bounce (indirect) lighting.
 
tom p. said:
I'm not clear on the Brinkmann. It looks like a spotlight vs. a flood light. I am understanding that?



I find the light from those halogens way TOO harsh, too hot. They're not terribly helpful apart from using them as bounce (indirect) lighting.
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What are most people using? It seems in almost every before/after post in the click and brag section, there are pics of the standard, rectangular halogen lights...?
 
Tom P.- Yeah, I wouldn't call the Brinkman a floodlight by any means. Assuming the one my painter uses is what everybody's talking about (I'm sure it is), it's just a pretty bright, natural-spectrum flashlight.



I can spot marring a *LOT* better with halogens than I can with, say, fluorescents, but I gotta do a lot of monkeying around (move the light, angle the light, turn out the other light, bend and twist to see at the right angle, etc.) to see flaws and the incandescents I'm always talking about show flaws a lot better *for me*. Something like "point-source illumination" in a "dark field", I keep forgetting the details :o Try moving the (halogen)light away from the vehicle so it's not shining on it quite as directly and see if that helps any.



Lightman- I consider the halogens a must-have even though I frequently sorta-slam them. They're very good for the money. And yeah, the ones that detach from the stand can be very handy! My Sears one does that and it's one of the few things I really like about it compared to my crappy one.



jgriesinger- That picture is good, shows people just what we're talking about and really drives home how handy it is that it comes apart like that. Good buy for the price, that's for sure :xyxthumbs
 
Hey Accumulator, where did you pick up those incandescents?



I've got a cheapo 7-dollar 500-watt halogen from WallyWorld, but it's a paint to use since it doesn't have a stand (I shouldn't have skimped out on that one) but it's still a pain trying to get the right angle to find marring.
 
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