I'm confused on my lighting situation and want some clarification.
Over the winter, my Z will be sleeping in the garage, and at some point I am embarking on an all-out detail, which could take weeks. THe entire job will take place in my garage, with no sunlight of any kind. It will be way too cold to have the garage door open while working.
My garage is a 2-car, and so far I have (2) 4-foot twin-tube fluorescent fixtures overhead, one sits over the front of the car and the other over the pack of the car. There are also two light bulb fixtures, which I put flourescent bulbs in. The garage gets awfully bright, but still, the light seems too far away to really be able to pick out defects, swirls, hazy spots, etc. especially when working on the sides of the car, where the overheads don't hit.
I bought one of those industrial-type halogen lamps that's something like 550 watts, but pretty much proved to be completely useless. I hoped it would help light up the side of the car more. It didn't.
I need some ideas on how to properly illuminate my garage with the emphasis on being detail-friendly. Should I put a whole army of fluorescents up top and on the sides of the walls? Are there any good portable lighting systems that really show defects and can be positioned anywhere I need? Any good hand-held lights? I want to be able to see all my defects, easily.
Thanks for the suggestions... I do have T8 bulbs up top, so I'm probably good there. I think they are also the full-spectrum lights, if I remember correctly. Does that matter?
I'll look into that dual xenon flashlight too. I have heard of the sun gun... but I also stumbled across this a few minutes ago: It's the Infratech CM5300.
Thanks for the suggestions... I do have T8 bulbs up top, so I'm probably good there. I think they are also the full-spectrum lights, if I remember correctly. Does that matter?
I'll look into that dual xenon flashlight too. I have heard of the sun gun... but I also stumbled across this a few minutes ago: It's the Infratech CM5300.
Josh, the lights I need would be exclusively for finding defects. THe existing lights put enough light to fool me into thinking I'm actually standing outside on a nice day, but the lights are so "distant" that I still can't see defects that I know are there. When I pull the car out into the sun, they all show up. In the garage, they disappear. So I want something else... soemthing additional... that I can use to make every defect show up. Or at least, as many as possible.
The 500W halogen lamp I have (small floorsitting lamp, with a 4" long bulb) seems useless... I wonder if I need more wattage or maybe I bought the wrong type of lamp?
i use fluorescent fixtures overhead, (4@4 foot) and 2@1000W halogens on stands that i can put lite where its needed there is no substitute for sun lite i move my zzz in and out into the sun lite to check in between product changes im in nj winters in Alaska must be tuff on detailing .you can keep moving the halogens at different angles to try and show more defects
Josh, the lights I need would be exclusively for finding defects. THe existing lights put enough light to fool me into thinking I'm actually standing outside on a nice day, but the lights are so "distant" that I still can't see defects that I know are there. When I pull the car out into the sun, they all show up. In the garage, they disappear. So I want something else... soemthing additional... that I can use to make every defect show up. Or at least, as many as possible.
The 500W halogen lamp I have (small floorsitting lamp, with a 4" long bulb) seems useless... I wonder if I need more wattage or maybe I bought the wrong type of lamp?
The double halogen lights that you can get at hd/lowes etc, that stand on an adjustable tripod work great, and are pretty cheap.
Corvette Store
Indoor Lighting... What's the Best for Detailing?
