I was recently looking into some better lighting to detect defects on my vehicles, particularly light colors. Who here has overhead metal halides in their garage/work shop? Who here uses a portable metal halide light? Hopefully some of yall have interest in better lighting as well. I think people that have used them would agree that metal halides are probably one of the best lighting sources for seeing swirls, scratches, etc. (think overhead lights at a gas station, parking lot, etc). I have spent a good part of the day searching for a consumer available metal halide light solution. After searching through numerous specialty lighting stores, I ended up back on Home Depots site where I found two possible candidates. Goliath Dual 175w metal Halide This may be most ideal set up. Basically could replace your halogen stands. They don't generate as much heat and the bulbs don't blow up break nearly as easy as halogens. I can't count how many times I have replaced my halogen bulbs. Designers edge dual 175w metal halide Here is the same light set up marketed under a different name. Never heard of 7 corners hardware, but they do have it priced $120 cheaper than Home Depot. It is shipped freight (Home Depots specs lists the weight at 101 lbs). Only problem with 7corners is that they don't give you the freight quote until after you have purchased. Who knows if they will nail you with some big handling charge. Home depot listed the estimated shipping charge threshold at $200 :bulge::bulge: And it appears that its an online item only :mad0259: Northerntool.com has the same Designers edge dual 175w listed for $419 dollars and the online shipping calculator stated the shipping charge at $98 dollars. The only downside from Northern tool is that it doesn't seem to be a stocked item, so it will ship direct from the factory in 35-39 days ! The other option is this Single 175w Goliath portable metal halide Much more cost effective, weighs half as much and should provide sufficient enough lighting for our purpose. 175w Metal halide puts out nearly the same Lumens as a 1000watt halogen! For this portal setup, you could fabricate your own stand with casters for a nice portable set up. This one weighs about 46 lbs and to my zip code was $15 bucks ground shipping, so I could probably get it with tax and all for around $175 bucks, which doesn't sound like a bad deal compared to $500+ for the dual 175w set up. This will probably be the route I will go. I may just find a cart with casters or fabricate my own set up for it stand on. Thoughts? Comments? Thanks! Chad
I've owned several metal halide setups which were used for my saltwater reef aquariums. They produce way too much heat; essentially using these would be like polishing in direct sunlight.
Lighting is the most important addition to a 'detailing' garage. While on the subject of inspection lighting-Paint Surface Inspection: Inspect your work under full sunlight or purpose-made paint inspection lamps; holograms, fine marring hooks, etc. are very difficult to see under man made light. There's nothing more frustrating than having to strip off your LSP and re-do. 1.Brinkmann REI - most LED’s merely glow, but Rebel's highly efficient, finely focused lens casts a 40-ft. beam of far-reaching light. Fish-eye-shaped lens focuses the light from the single white LED bulb into a bright, consistent beam; no dark spot in the beam's centre, the LED bulb is nearly indestructible and draws very little power, greatly extending battery life; runs on two AA batteries, included, a tough ABS plastic is armoured with thick, no-slip rubber grips Push-button on/off switch inset in the back cap REI - Brinkmann LED ll Flashlight at REI.com 2.The 3M Sun Gun™ Colour Matching Light - can be used throughout the refinish process, the percentage of light vs. natural day light is CRI (Colour Rendering Index) = 99.35%: identify paint defects such as swirl marks, burn through, sand scratches, etc., which will reduce the chance of costly re-work- TCP Global - Color Matching Light Kit or Autobarn - Spotlights - Brinkmann® MaxFire Dual Xenon Rechargeable Spotlight 3.Infratech CM5300 – Colour Matcher - this light is a great alternative to the 3M Sun Gun. Runs on mains electricity not batteries, a must have tool and it’s also an inexpensive investment. High Colour Temperature 5300K Duplicates Natural sunlight under any condition, high power 70 Watts, large coverage area, hand held lightweight, momentary "On/Off" switch, identify pre-or-post paint correction / renovation defects, eliminate re-doing or call-backs – http//:Infratech - World Leader in Infrared Heating Technology and Products 4.Digital Microscope - this enables you to analyze and capture paint surface defects, the unit’s interchangeable lenses provide The ProScope™ with tremendous versatility. With the 0-10X lens, it becomes a high-quality video camera. Magnification can be increased to a startling 200X power in a matter of seconds (50x seems to be a good magnification for detailing work) the lens mount is an industry-standard C-Mount that will accept third-party lenses. ProScope HR™ CSI Science Level 1, includes- 1/0-10x Lens, 1/50x Lens, 1/Carrying Case - ProScope HR™: High Resolution Handheld USB Microscope
