Lighting

[DaveT435]

My garage has one 60w bulb lighting it...obviously not enough to do any detailing. I'm looking at the dual 500w halogen work light. Is 500w going to be enough...or do I need to go 750 or 1000w?Feed back please

[RhetoricMixes]

I have one shop light that goes on a tripod and they are 1000w, plenty bright for anything i need. They also disconnect from the base so i can inspect my areas when needed.

[DaveT435]

Sounds like the one I'm looking at. I don't think there is much price difference between 500 and 1000...I'll just get the 1000. Thanks

[Cman8]

If you can hook up some fluorescent lights above. you can tie in to the same light bulb and you can run a few off of one light output. I like my work lights but they make my space hot.

[DaveT435]

I'll try to work light...if that doesn't work my brother is an electrician so I can really light the place up.

[builthatch]

If you can hook up some fluorescent lights above. you can tie in to the same light bulb and you can run a few off of one light output. I like my work lights but they make my space hot.

yep; i use a ton of overhead fluorescents and a couple strategically placed plain ol' single bulb work lamps with flood lamp bulbs. they don't make too much heat and are just enough light to see your progress...and because they are singular and able to be clamped-on to various spots in my garage, they are very adjustable for various sizes of vehicles, etc.

[DaveT435]

I wasn't sure a regular flood light would be enough. Good to know.
RhetoricMixes...I looked online at Sears and Home Depot. Quite a few negative reviews on the Sears light...they were mostly a couple years old though. Where did you get yours if you don't mind my asking??

[builthatch]

I wasn't sure a regular flood light would be enough. Good to know.
RhetoricMixes...I looked online at Sears and Home Depot. Quite a few negative reviews on the Sears light...they were mostly a couple years old though. Where did you get yours if you don't mind my asking??

sometimes i turn off the fluorescents and just use a couple of the floods, especially on the vertical panels.

[LegacyGT]

Halogens are hot hot hot. Just something to keep in mind during our record breaking summer heat :/

I would put up some fluorescents, then get a small halogen or LED to use when needed and a nice led head lamp. I use two 105W CFLs (500W equivalent each) and a dual 8' high output fluorescent in my garage.

[DaveT435]

It's record breaking heat for everyone else...I'm in Texas this year is a lot better than last year!! I appreciate the heads up about the heat of the halogens. Hadn't thought about that. Just want to be able to see those fine scratches. With just that 60w bulb I can't even see the compound good enough to work it right. lol

[RhetoricMixes]

I wasn't sure a regular flood light would be enough. Good to know.
RhetoricMixes...I looked online at Sears and Home Depot. Quite a few negative reviews on the Sears light...they were mostly a couple years old though. Where did you get yours if you don't mind my asking??

I got my halogens from lowes and I'm in Texas also. I don't use them during the day because of the heat they put out and if I do use them it's spot checking inside a garage or under shade so they don't overheat. I want some led work lights but those suckers are expensive.

[Spiney]

I have both a work light that contains a fluorescent tube that folds over about 5-6 times. That's great because it's cool but it doesn't seem to show off the defects as well as the halogens. I also have a two headed unit on a stand that I think is 500w each. Shows the defects but throws a lot of heat. I used it inside today to check My work then turned it off because it was 95 outside. One issue I have with both units is the heads do not swivel to point down at the car enough. They tilt up but not down where i need them. I sweated buckets today doing my 1st correction.

[DaveT435]

Ok...so sounds like I need better overall lighting and the halogen to check defects. Good to know the 500w halogen shows the defects. I bought a little hand held LED light. Opens up to be a work light and has a spotlight also. It actually shows the defects pretty good. Thank you to everyone for the input.