Anything better & stronger than Brinkmann MaxFire Dual Xenon?

[ZoranC]

Well, my eyes are not what they used to be. Or MaxFire is not strong enough to easily reveal swirls to those of us that don`t have best trained eye, especially when used outside. Or both.



In any case, are you aware of anything (easily portable) that would be even better / "stronger" in revealing swirls than MaxFire?

[imported_themightytimmah]

3M`s Sun Gun is pretty much the top of the line in this regard, but it`s quite pricey. It`s sold to the bodyshop market for paint matching - it really does quite the job of replicating the sun, too.

[ZoranC]

3M`s Sun Gun is pretty much the top of the line in this regard, but it`s quite pricey.

Ummmm, please allow me to add "... and that will not cost me another one of my firstborns" to the description :D I`m not looking for necessarily cheapest, but that`s way out of what I can justify.



Anything else? Would 1 million candle focused spotlight work? What kind of flashlight / spotlight would work best?

[Accumulator]

3M`s Sun Gun is pretty much the top of the line in this regard, but it`s quite pricey. It`s sold to the bodyshop market for paint matching - it really does quite the job of replicating the sun, too.



My good painter has one of those, and while it`s great for paint matching and texture evaluation, it doesn`t work very well for swirl-spotting. Using it, I can`t see stuff on the Jag that I *know* is there. The marring that drives me nuts is invisible under that light, but under my incandescents it`s obvious. I played around with it quite a bit and was prepared to buy one, until I found that it just doesn`t work well for this application.



ZoranC- It`s not just a question of brightness or even daylight-color, but also of *contrast*. I still do my final inspection under old fashioned incandescent lighting. My hand-held trouble light cost maybe $20, plus a few more for the 300w bulb and it works better for spotting marring than anything else I`ve ever tried (no more surprises under the gas station lights at night :D ). Use it in an otherwise dark shop, that`s very important, and vary the angle and distance from the paint. Also vary your viewing distance and angle and make sure you`re focusing on the surface of the paint, not the reflections in it.

[ZoranC]

It`s not just a question of brightness or even daylight-color, but also of *contrast*.

I definitely understand. Something that will be sharp without blinding.




I still do my final inspection under old fashioned incandescent lighting. My hand-held trouble light cost maybe $20, plus a few more for the 300w bulb and it works better for spotting marring than anything else I`ve ever tried

Believe it or not I`ve considered that and am still not discarding idea.




Use it in an otherwise dark shop, that`s very important ...

That`s the part I can not do. I don`t have a garage to work in, much less shop. I have to be able to do it outside.

[Woob]

Interesting question, I`ve never found the Brinkmann to be that helpful. I ended up returning mine for the $20 credit. Halogen`s seem to pick up large amounts of damage, but of course the Sun is the ultimate defect spotter.

[Less]

Ummmm, please allow me to add "... and that will not cost me another one of my firstborns" to the description :D I`m not looking for necessarily cheapest, but that`s way out of what I can justify.



Anything else? Would 1 million candle focused spotlight work? What kind of flashlight / spotlight would work best?



"Another one of your firstborns?"



How many firstborns do you have? What did you get for the other one?

[ZoranC]

"Another one of your firstborns?" How many firstborns do you have?

Literally? None. Jokingly (because it was meant as a joke)? As many as can fit in a joke.




What did you get for the other one?

Obviously not enough :chuckle:

[Accumulator]

ZoranC- Ah, yeah...I forgot your working environment :think:



SilvaBimma- Oddly enough I sometimes see stuff under the incandescents that I can`t see in natural sunlight. Same example: the Jag looks a *lot* better in the sun than it does in my shop. Heh heh, my painter thinks I`m nuts to stress about marring that`s only visible under such limited/weird conditions and he`s probably right :o

[kleraudio]

Hey George,

I almost forgot about the incandescent lighting that you told me about. Definitely gonna make a trip to Home Depot this weekend!



Thanks for refreshing my memory!



Jim

[fjames]

You could try one of these (http://www.wgcshop.com/pcart/shopper.php?itm=GP-FL-547_cat_Flash%20Light). Lumens/dollar it`s about the best you could do for a flashlight I think. Here`s a review (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/gp_scorpion_r500.htm).

[ZoranC]

You could try one of these (http://www.wgcshop.com/pcart/shopper.php?itm=GP-FL-547_cat_Flash%20Light). Lumens/dollar it`s about the best you could do for a flashlight I think. Here`s a review (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/gp_scorpion_r500.htm).

It is hard for me to say would it work or not without knowing what kind of light is my target and what kind of light that flashlight is outputting. I don`t think lumens play too much of a role as long as it is causing contrast. Fluorescent lighting is not putting out many lumens yet it is revealing flaws real good. I have a feeling distance from paint surface matters a lot. Beam has to be narrow focus.