Best Light to Reveal Paint Defects....

Has anyone ever used this on their headlights? If so, how was it? I need to clean the headlights on my hubby`s `87 Volvo and I`m not sure what to use...thank you

[Ron Ketcham]

To polish and get a little faster action on those headlight lens, you can either use any liquid polish or mix equal parts of #7 and #3 together and do it.(that will give you the #17 or you can mix #7 and #9, do the same also)

[ALM]

I have #10 plastic polish and its garbage, follow Henry and Ron`s advice!

[Ron Ketcham]

#7 and #10 are the same product, just different number, name and directions. Used to be the salesmanager for a Mequiar who spun off his own company in the mid 60`s, did a lot of their chemistry in the 50`s, he showed me, the same product.

[imported_Luster]

When we are polishing paint, certain types of light show the swirls, marring and defects better than others.

For me, nothing shows swirls better than sunlight. I like to use the Brinkman Dual Xenon light gun for showing swirls as I work.

Incandescent (sp?) and Flourescent (again sp?) don`t show defects nearly as well IMO.

What`s your favorite lighting to work in?

[imported_Woodie]

Nothing beats natural light (sunlight) for highlighting defects. I also use the halogen worklights to highlight some of the more serious defects, but they do not work for spotting holograms.

We do not have the Brinkman Dual Xenon available locally and have resorted to using LED torches which seem to work well (Lenser P7/T7 range).

What I have found is that too bright a light washes out the defects and doesn`t work well.

[Deep Gloss]

Nothing matches the sun...

With that said, my favorite light for showing defects is my 240 lumen Fenix LED.. It can even make holograms visible...

Second favorite is my Brinkman...

[Biz77]

I use Halogens and my free issued surefire is bright but helps me find some defects. But sunlight for holograms for sure.

[TimG]

Sunlight is the best.

Other light source i`ve used - Metal halide, dual halo setup, hi lumens LED.

I only used flourescent t8 for general lighting.

[Street Dreams]

LED Fenix is great and I think we all need to thank Bob Willis for that one.

He showed me that light almost a year ago at SEMA and I immediately bought one and starting using it in my writeups... from there tons of people found how useful the LED is for paint inspection.

Also people really underestimate the power of the standing halogen when you have a dark garage or as I like to do, turn the lights out and light up the finish with the halogens at an angle.

No other lighting but halogens + a heavy angle really helps find defects on metallic colors, even white and silver

I am looking into metal halide setups but they are pricey and use lots of electrtcity... 20hr corrections with MH`s buring = $$$ :scared:

[imported_Stokdgs]

I think halogens with all the heat are still the best alternative to the sun for me, and since I dont get as much sun here, I have to take advantage of it whenever its out. I dont have the LED Fenix, can it be googled with that name to find it ?? Can anyone send me the url ?

S/Dreams - thanks for the great idea - dark garage/halogens at extreme angle, will try that out !

Thanks !!!
Dan F

[imported_broker99]

I think halogens with all the heat are still the best alternative to the sun for me, and since I dont get as much sun here, I have to take advantage of it whenever its out. I dont have the LED Fenix, can it be googled with that name to find it ?? Can anyone send me the url ?

S/Dreams - thanks for the great idea - dark garage/halogens at extreme angle, will try that out !

Thanks !!!
Dan F

I would like to see that LED Fenix as well.

[Mobilejay]

Has anyone tried the Sungun? That thing is awesome at showing everything. Only problem is its about 350.

[shizam1]

...
We do not have the Brinkman Dual Xenon available locally and have resorted to using LED torches which seem to work well (Lenser P7/T7 range).
...

I just recieved my Coast LED Lenser T7 yesterday... WOW! Up until now, I was buffing in my garage, and had to wait a day or so until I had some direct sunlight to see what affect it had. This was VERY frustrating! I would spend an hour on a panel, and think it was immaculate, only to go into the sun and be treated to an eyeful of swirls and holograms. This thing is amazing. I`m not saying there`s not better out there, but I`ll say it is working perfectly for me to reveal all sorts of scratches and defects without the need of direct sunlight. My newly purchased 2007 Black Infiniti G35 looks just as horrible under this flashlight as it does in direct sun :)

[bmw5541]

Since I do most of my work outdoors, it`s sunlight for me. When I get an opportunity to work in a garage, I use my halogens.