Hello all, I detail cars for a living and use specialty flashlights for finding swirls and imperfections. I am wanting to have lighting in my garage that can show these swirls, holograms, and other imperfections with out me having to turn the lights out and use my flash lights. I am reading a lot about "T8" lights but don't know if they would be good for detailing or just really bright lights. Some of my client's cars require a lot of work and keeping the car at my house for a few days to get the work done is something I'm looking into. My main concern is the lighting for right now. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
Lighting for detailing?
- Thread starter Mobilejay
- Start date
MrMark
Well-known member
I'm interested in this too. I have had to use halogen at angles to see swirl, especially on light colors. I don't believe flourescent will show anything.
In my mom's garage I had two 4' two bulb T8s. They were end to end on each side of the car. I then had two sets of 4' T8s in front and back of the car. For a total of 16 6500k bulbs. The light was a little blue, but I could detail in there. Still used a multi LED to check clarity of the paint.
In my garage I'm setting it up for more light (all T8s). But plan on using bulbs with a better CRI. And will still use the LED.
So it can be done.
In my garage I'm setting it up for more light (all T8s). But plan on using bulbs with a better CRI. And will still use the LED.
So it can be done.
Larry M
Well-known member
The 6500K T8s are a bit much but I could see how it may help in a detailing situation. I decided to go with the 5000K but I can't tell you right now how they perform in a detailing scenario since I haven't pulled the car in the garage yet
Larry M
Well-known member
Just pulled it into the garage for you but I am embarassed and won't take a photo because it is filthy.
Anyway I have 2 4ft double tube T8 light fixtures with 5000K color temp. They are located at the front and back of the garage. The garage is adequately lit for a normal garage but if I were using it for work purposes I would do 2 8ft double tube T8 fixtures with 5000K lamps down the sides. 4ft fixtures in the front and back are probably good enough, but making them 8ft structures wouldn't hurt. However with the lighting I have, I could spot issues with the clear coat.
I don't think the 6500K color temps will help with identifying issues with the clear coat more so that 5000K. I like the natural look of 5000K as opposed to the 6500K which was really blue
BTW I am not a professional detailer, just your normal cleaner with a Porter Cable and some pads and polishes
Anyway I have 2 4ft double tube T8 light fixtures with 5000K color temp. They are located at the front and back of the garage. The garage is adequately lit for a normal garage but if I were using it for work purposes I would do 2 8ft double tube T8 fixtures with 5000K lamps down the sides. 4ft fixtures in the front and back are probably good enough, but making them 8ft structures wouldn't hurt. However with the lighting I have, I could spot issues with the clear coat.
I don't think the 6500K color temps will help with identifying issues with the clear coat more so that 5000K. I like the natural look of 5000K as opposed to the 6500K which was really blue
BTW I am not a professional detailer, just your normal cleaner with a Porter Cable and some pads and polishes
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AndrewBigA
Well-known member
i have 75 watt day glow flourescent fixtures. theyre 8ft long.
i plan to upgrade to t8 within the next few months. i have 7 fixtures up in a 17ft8" by 29ft garage. i plan to upgrade to 10 8ft t8 flourescent fixtures.
stick with halogen lighting, its the best way to search for paint flaws when doing correction work. no flourescent lights will be strong enough to make the deep paint defects visable.
the 75 watt day glow bulbs are great but id like it to be as bright as possible in the garage.
let us know what you decide to do.
id post pics but my garage isnt finished yet & im still working under the old lights.
make sure your walls are painted semi gloss white as well as your ceiling. you can take it another step by applying a clear coat on your walls & ceiling, thats what i plan to do.
you can improve the lighting in the garage by applying a clear coat to the floor as well, assuming that you have expoxy paint already laid down.
pics of your garage as it looks today? =)
post them so we can help you out better!
i plan to upgrade to t8 within the next few months. i have 7 fixtures up in a 17ft8" by 29ft garage. i plan to upgrade to 10 8ft t8 flourescent fixtures.
stick with halogen lighting, its the best way to search for paint flaws when doing correction work. no flourescent lights will be strong enough to make the deep paint defects visable.
the 75 watt day glow bulbs are great but id like it to be as bright as possible in the garage.
let us know what you decide to do.
id post pics but my garage isnt finished yet & im still working under the old lights.
make sure your walls are painted semi gloss white as well as your ceiling. you can take it another step by applying a clear coat on your walls & ceiling, thats what i plan to do.
you can improve the lighting in the garage by applying a clear coat to the floor as well, assuming that you have expoxy paint already laid down.
pics of your garage as it looks today? =)
post them so we can help you out better!
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Thanks Larry, cars looks great man. Nice sun shots.
Andrew, I have never heard of clear coating a wall. My garage is a basic 2 car attaced garage, and full of boxes from moving. We are still moving in, so once I get the place cleaned up to where its empty I will take some pics. Also, the floor is bare, nothing on it.
Andrew, I have never heard of clear coating a wall. My garage is a basic 2 car attaced garage, and full of boxes from moving. We are still moving in, so once I get the place cleaned up to where its empty I will take some pics. Also, the floor is bare, nothing on it.
AndrewBigA
Well-known member
clear coating a wall is the same as clear coating the floor lol.
the brighter the wall, the better the light. trust me, i cant stand my dull white walls. when i redo the walls im going to clear coat them lol.
what do you plan to do with the floor?
csp
Well-known member
With that reasoning, then why not paint with gloss paint instead of the semi-gloss you recommended?
The gloss is what i was thinking to do since I had never heard of the clear coating for walls.
Larry, with the floor I was planning to do vct tile like another post on here. He had done the vct and put an epoxy sealant and made the tile look really good. I'm not sure yet about the floor yet
Larry, with the floor I was planning to do vct tile like another post on here. He had done the vct and put an epoxy sealant and made the tile look really good. I'm not sure yet about the floor yet
AndrewBigA
Well-known member
AndrewBigA
Well-known member
you can buy a high gloss wall paint but for that extra shine on the walls i would apply a nice clear coat. sounds strange but i guarantee it will help alot.
i guess youll see how my place looks after i do this lol.
Larry M
Well-known member
Some of the VCT flooring jobs I have seen on this site have been amazing.
That should help you reflect some light. I should also note my current garage was just painted a flat slate color and there is very little light reflection. Not ideal for detailing, but I like the look.
Hate the garage though as it is 11x20 without my tools in there...going to be a nightmare when I put my workbench and tool box in there...forget the rest of my stuff
AndrewBigA
Well-known member
Some of the VCT flooring jobs I have seen on this site have been amazing.
That should help you reflect some light. I should also note my current garage was just painted a flat slate color and there is very little light reflection. Not ideal for detailing, but I like the look.
Hate the garage though as it is 11x20 without my tools in there...going to be a nightmare when I put my workbench and tool box in there...forget the rest of my stuff
all of the VCT floors look amazing but nobody knows how they will hold up over time. i would love to see what that floor looks like after 6 months of heavy traffic.
you can make 11x20 work if you take your time to plan things out.
use as much wall space for storage as possible & free up as much floor space as you can.
i would build your bench last, take care of everything else first.
how tall is your ceiling? can you build a loft?
Larry M
Well-known member
Already have the bench and tool box...would have never imagined myself in a 1 car garage but NJ is crazy expensive so I had to trade a 2 car for new construction.
Walls are getting used up fast, have 3 15" cabinets and 4 wheels up already. Ordered pegboard for more tool storage. My concern is my shop vac and my floor jack...I'll have to use as much of the walls as I can
A friend of mine put black vct tile in his garage about 3 or 4 years ago. He has a lot of heavy benches and tables moving in and out. Plus one of his cars gets parked in there every night. The floor has held up just fine, no pealing, not cuts, nothing. Thats why I decided to do the vct and then I saw on here some people had cleared it with an epoxy sealer and it looked even better.
Skaal-tel 79
Active member
Maybe I'm missing something but -
if you use halogen lights for detecting paint flaws, why not run halogen lights in your garage? Granted they are quite expensive, but if this is for your job, it's a tax write off
just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
if you use halogen lights for detecting paint flaws, why not run halogen lights in your garage? Granted they are quite expensive, but if this is for your job, it's a tax write off
just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
Larry M
Well-known member
Detailed my car over the weekend and the lighting I have is not nearly sufficient and certainly does not show paint flaws.
Luckily I had one of those 1,000watt lamps that I used to help show paint flaws.
Maybe if I had 20 bulbs above me it would have helped, but I don't think it projects far enough to show paint flaws (I have about 12' ceilings)
Luckily I had one of those 1,000watt lamps that I used to help show paint flaws.
Maybe if I had 20 bulbs above me it would have helped, but I don't think it projects far enough to show paint flaws (I have about 12' ceilings)