How bright of a Halogen Light do you use?

[MusicMan]

Whats up guys...just wondering what you guys use to spot swirls as far as a halogen light (im guessing thats what MOST of us use since not everyone has $350 for a little swirl spotter light).



I`ve just got a lil 300w dual light and personally it aint cuttin it...so I`d like to know how bright i should go! Thanks for the input..

[Greg Gellas]

A nice Fenix flash light work wells for spotting scratches and swirls.....



For halogens, my commercial electrics work well :D

[MusicMan]

A nice Fenix flash light work wells for spotting scratches and swirls.....



For halogens, my commercial electrics work well :D



lol yea i bet they work well. I just wanna get one of those dual work lights with the stand...just wanna know how many watts...i think the highest ive SEEN is 1500w...but ive heard of 5000w??? (surface of the sun?) Just wondering what is usually good enough...cause the 300w definitely isnt !

[wfedwar]

I use 1500W Commercial Electrics. Actually, I see more haze and swirls using my LED Surefire G6, though.

[MusicMan]

I use 1500W Commercial Electrics. Actually, I see more haze and swirls using my LED Surefire G6, though.



Hmm ok, so is that just a LED flashlight? and 1500W huh, i bet thats bright!

[wfedwar]

Hmm ok, so is that just a LED flashlight? and 1500W huh, i bet thats bright!



Yeah, I`ve found you see some things better with halogens and some better with the LED. The 1500W is bright, but not ridiculous.

[MusicMan]

Yeah, I`ve found you see some things better with halogens and some better with the LED. The 1500W is bright, but not ridiculous.



Ok...well i guess ive got a trip to home depot to make so i can shop around for some lights :)

[imported_JoshVette]

I use 500W I got at Lowes/HD or whatever. They`re like $15 bucks for the single portable one, I find it much easier to use then the dual lamp stand fixed ones.



Shows me everything without really blinding me too much.



If you`re having trouble seeing swirls with 300W I would suggest waiting till night time that way you can eliminate the surrounding light that takes away from your single light.



Josh

[MusicMan]

I use 500W I got at Lowes/HD or whatever. They`re like $15 bucks for the single portable one, I find it much easier to use then the dual lamp stand fixed ones.



Shows me everything without really blinding me too much.



If you`re having trouble seeing swirls with 300W I would suggest waiting till night time that way you can eliminate the surrounding light that takes away from your single light.



Josh



Hmm, well i was using it at night, the only problem is there is a street lamp RIGHT on the corner of my drive way, so its very hard to eliminate ALL light.



Do you think i could just buyt he 500w BULB and switch it out in my light, or do i need a whole new fixture?

[imported_JoshVette]

Hmm, well i was using it at night, the only problem is there is a street lamp RIGHT on the corner of my drive way, so its very hard to eliminate ALL light.



Do you think i could just buyt he 500w BULB and switch it out in my light, or do i need a whole new fixture?



Don`t know if you can simply switch that bulb, I`d contact HD or Lowes and ask them, not my specialty.



Do you have a garage you can pull it in?



Is the car a light or dark color?

[MusicMan]

Ya i`ll ask them.



Yea we`ve got a garage...just this is a hi-top chevy express van (big boy) and he wont squeeze in there! We do have a side yard that has an RV cover...but its kinda crammed in there....not a lot of room to move around with that big truck. I guess i could always just shoot the light out:bigups.



And this truck is light...kind of a grayish/silver. Now the car im working on (kind of my practice car) is a hunter green ford taurus that needs more love than i may be able to give it! I really need to get some before pictures...well some BETTER before pictures before i get too neck deep into working on it...

[imported_JoshVette]

Ya i`ll ask them.



Yea we`ve got a garage...just this is a hi-top chevy express van (big boy) and he wont squeeze in there! We do have a side yard that has an RV cover...but its kinda crammed in there....not a lot of room to move around with that big truck. I guess i could always just shoot the light out:bigups.



And this truck is light...kind of a grayish/silver. Now the car im working on (kind of my practice car) is a hunter green ford taurus that needs more love than i may be able to give it! I really need to get some before pictures...well some BETTER before pictures before i get too neck deep into working on it...



It may just not have swirls too see. Many big commercial vehicles like that rarely get hand washed and dried, most just get sprayed down at the coin wash and thus not causing any visible swirls. That doesn`t mean the paints in good shape, it could have tons of contamination as well as water spots and such but just no swirls. It`s possible I`ve seen it before.



Josh

[MusicMan]

Ya I got a good look at the hood that i did...and it looked in good shape (as far as swirls go) just as you said, especially for being a 96`....so i skipped the compound and went straight to the Megs 205 with an orange pad.



I checked it out in the sun again yesterday...the paint looks really good and i have to look VERY hard to see some super light swirls...maybe they were hiding under the other contamination or maybe were put there from the orange pad....but i think if i go back over it with the 205 and use a white LC pad it should be good...what are your thoughts?



I think i`ll also probably snag something portable and rechargeable like some kind of LED flashlight...im not really sure how their brightness is rated (i.e normal bulbs are rated in watts...).



Ive seen a Brinkmans Swirl Finder Light which is a Duel Xenon rechargeable light for about $30...maybe i`ll go that route...something rechargeable really would be nice...one thing i dont like about having a plug in light is ive noticed unless i go running cords from different outletts....that It does take away a little of the power from my PC...which is no bueno!

[SlantS]

I just bought one of these Husky 1400w halogens.



I was going to buy two, $64.00 is pretty inexpensive, but I wanted to give the first one a run before investing in another.



The lamps are detachable with the pull of a lever, and each lamp is adjustable from 200w, 500w, &700w. This makes for an unbelievable number of lighting combinations.





Husky Husky 1400W Twin Head Halogen Work Light - 635-337 at The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh8/R-202071330/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)

[Accumulator]

As I just posted on a similar thread yesterday, IME it`s not the brightness that makes a light good/bad for swirl-spotting. And I usually do my best inspections (especially on that kind of color) with a cheap little incandescent light anyhow.