Lighting...what's best?

M

Miller2

New member
I have been under the impression that fluorescent lighting is best to use while detailing. Is that still the case or is halogen suitable as well? Does it really matter? Now that I am detailing a black vehicle I want light that will allow me to see fine imperfections.
 
Miller2- Welcome to Autopia!



This topic gets covered enough that you might find the dreaded SEARCH worth doing.



Generally, fluorescents are the *worst* possible lighting for spotting swirls/etc. Utterly useless IMO (I have literally *dozens* of 8' tubes in my shop, have to turn them all off to inspect). Heh heh...want to make a swirled-up car look great? Just turn on the fluorescents :chuckle:



Halogens are better. Incandescents are, IME, better still. Some (most?) people really like the Brinkman Dual-Xenon but I consider it over-rated. I like the 3M SunGun for some types of inspections but it's awfully pricey.



If you don't already have them, get some halogens work lights. And I'd pick up a cheap incandescent trouble light to use for final inspections. Remember to turn off all the other lights in the shop so only the inspection light is illuninating the area, that's critical. When you want to see the paint's true condition, you have to turn out the fluorescents.



(OK, there are a few cases I can think of where fluorescent light is very good, but those situations aren't normally what somebody's asking about.)
 
Florescence give good light coverage, but do not show you the fine defects, swirls and such.



For inspecting paint I would suggest using a good 500W halogen. I must warn you though it will show you everything and especially the stuff you don't want to see.



Josh
 
Metal Halides are the king of detail shop lights. We have 34x430 watters and 2x1000 watters. Plus tons of flourescents. Shop can be seen from miles away at night. :har:





John
 
Lighting to find imperfections on a black car? You won't need lighting, the imperfections will reveal themselves :grinno:



Florescents, incandescents, halogens, and LEDs all work great.



They all have their places, somewhere.



As already mentioned, florescents are great for general lighting purposes, but not so much for finding swirls and inspecting paint. Halogens and incandescents rank similarly and are definitely my go-to work lighting choices.



The Brinkmann may be king in terms of widespread use, but I find that a nice LED flashlight can do loads better (and it doesn't look as ridiculous either ;)). I can second the Fenix TK11, inexpensive and works better than any Brinkmann. Can't comment on the SunGun as I haven't ever actually seen one.
 
Personally I think the Brinkmann is way too fragile for its price. You pay double for a Fenix but its much more durable. I knocked my Brinkmann from the seat of my car to the concrete floor and it was dead when I picked it up. Apparently the fall shorted the battery, hence pushing me to get my Fenix :)
 
I use halogens and flourescent lights too. I have tried Brinkmann before but yeah, your right, it was too fragile and I am too clumsy to have that. It did not work for me it got broken after a few months of usage.

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turn signal switch
 
That's funny, I had trouble seeing swirls with halogens, and then one day I noticed that the lowly 100w equiv spiral bulb in a glass bowl fixture on my garage wall lit them up like crazy. The glint of the swirls is almost as bright as the reflection of the light fixture itself! Ever since then I always double check my work before moving on by looking at the reflection of a spiral fluorescent bulb. I've since put in a couple more 150w spirals and a dual 6' Fluor. tube fixture.



I also picked up one of those Brinkman twin halogen hand lights which is also very good for swirls, and easier to move around than anything else.

I keep it in my trunk along with the cigarette lighter plug in case of a breakdown at night, because that sucker's bright!
 
Good lighting for finding defects is all about contrast. Fluorescents dont work well because their light is very diffuse. A halogen or sun gun works well, but only inside usually, not in bright daylight. They work well because the reflected beam is considerably brighter than the lights being reflected directly around it, which means the light reflecting off of one 'wall' of a scratch is brighter than the light reflecting off of the opposite wall, which makes the defect very visible.
 
FYI - Halogens give off UV radiation (you can actually sun-tan with halogen lights, as well as get a sunburn). Personally, I wouldn't work 8 hours a day everyday under halogen lighting, nor would I subject my employees to that either.
 
don't forget the walls. The best lighting for finding defects such as swirls is direct light. A street light at night on a moon less night shows everything, the sun on a clear day does the same because both are direct light. Indirect light fills the scratches and swirls and eliminates the shadows, that's why everybody can detail a car on a cloudy day in a white room with lots of lights.



On the other hand, if you paint the room dark colors or hand curtains that can be pulled over the wall to soak up the reflected lights whatever lights you use will become direct and will work. you can even gloss black the fixtures - I know, counter intuitive - if you want to make fluorescents work.



Robert
 
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