Halogen Lights

[SiliconX]

I need to pickup the typical Halogen lamps on a tripod, they'll pretty much only be used for Detailing but for detailing, better to go for 500W or 1000W?

Brighter is better? Or there is such a thing as too bright?

Edit: Sorry for the wrong forum, I thought I was in the Detailing Tools one

[Matt]

Well I have a cheap set of 1000w twin Halogens (500w each light) and I find them fine. Not too bright or anything.

I'd say go with the 1000w as the more light you have, the more light you have to see imprefections.

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Buy it once and be happy, that is what I have learned.

I like/use these:

Husky 1500 Watt Oval Twin Head Halogen Worklight - L-5402HD at The Home Depot

[Matt]

Ooh those are nice!

[KLRPilot]

How about using CFL* flood lights instead of Halogen?

I have several 500 watt CFL flood lights left over from...gardening activities.

Mounted on a stand, they would provide more light, use less energy, and not burn you if you touch them. Not sure, though, if they produce a "focused" enough light beam that would illuminate swirls.

Anybody have experience/comments, etc on this?

*CFL=Compact Florescent Light.

[SiliconX]

Buy it once and be happy, that is what I have learned.

I like/use these:

Husky 1500 Watt Oval Twin Head Halogen Worklight - L-5402HD at The Home Depot

Those are really really nice. Home Depot Canada doesn't have them on the site, but i'll have to stop by and check the store. Thanks!

[Emile]

Halogens are closer to the color of the sun, but flourescents are great at highlighting paint imperfections.

I would say to go with the brightest Halogens you can find, such as the ones that Motor City linked you to.

[Gary Sword]

I have a double halogen with 1000 watt bulbs and another double halogen with 500 watt bulbs. I would definitely get one with at least 1000 watt bulbs. The one from Home Depot with 1500 watt bulbs is very nice.

I just put some additional flourescent lighting in one of my garages using all 6700k daylight bulbs. The garage really lights up now. Looks like day even at night. The daylight bulbs cost more but make a big difference over the standard flourescent bulbs. The daylight bulbs put out the same spectrum of light as the sun and are very close to the spectrum of light put out by a halogen. A couple of things I like about the flourescents with daylight bulbs is they are very economical to use and don't get hot like a halogen.

[ScottB]

you can also consider something like the Brinkmann Dual Xenon flashlight to check correction work up close if you dont have the space nor want to deal with the heat these lamps can produce.

[Matt]

That would be useful Killr as it's not always convenient to use the halogens (or comparable size wise).

As for the heat, I see it as a bonus during the winter (haha it's like having a heater on in the garage )