Time to get a Shop Light

[Hokie335i]

Hey guys,
So now that I'm getting pretty consistent business even while in school, I've decided to get a standalone shop light instead of using my flashlights. I'm thinking of getting two lights and mounting them on a stand. My dad works for Cree LED (been using their promotional LED flashlights for now which are amazing) and I've talked to him about working to make a LED shop light for me or developing one :xyxthumbs: but in the meantime I'm looking for something to use that isn't crazy expensive

I found this on Harbor Freight, any comments, suggestions, reviews? It's 2 500W halogens. Pretty well priced..
Halogen Shop Light - 500 Watt Dual Head Shop Light (http://www.harborfreight.com/500-watt-dual-head-halogen-shop-light-40123.html)

[Setec Astronomy]

I guess you missed this thread, http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/80867-diy-led-work-light-much-better-than-halogen.html?highlight=LED

Besides the DIY, there is a halogen-like LED that shows up near the end of the thread.

[Hokie335i]

Yeah I looked at that. Like I said I'm looking for a temporary solution until I put together a LED light.

I'll take another look through the above thread though. Thanks!

[Setec Astronomy]

Um...the DIY light costs about $25 minus the bulbs, which it would seem you will be able to get free. I'm not sure why you would buy a $33 halogen light as a temporary solution.

[Hokie335i]

Um...the DIY light costs about $25 minus the bulbs, which it would seem you will be able to get free. I'm not sure why you would buy a $33 halogen light as a temporary solution.


Haha very true

[Hokie335i]

Ok so I ordered a photography light stand and a dual light socket to mount on top as well as a clamp mount to mount the sockets on the bottom of the stand for lower panels. My dad is visiting for my birthday in a few weeks and is bringing me a variety of Cree LED floodlights to try out. I'll update once I pick which lights I'll be using!

[damaged442]

I have a dual halogen from HF. It ended up being pretty cheap with coupons and such. One downfall is that sucker gets HOT! Not bad if you are working in a cold garage, but not so nice on a warm day!

[LilJayV10]

Husky 5 ft. 2500 Lumen Multi Directional LED Work Light-3PL-TP-DF-24W at The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-5-ft-2500-Lumen-Multi-Directional-LED-Work-Light-3PL-TP-DF-24W/203455015)

Husky 5 ft. 1720 Lumen Led Work Light with Tripod-WL1720LT-H at The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-5-ft-1720-Lumen-Led-Work-Light-with-Tripod-WL1720LT-H/203343390)

[Ike21]

Hey guys,
So now that I'm getting pretty consistent business even while in school, I've decided to get a standalone shop light instead of using my flashlights. I'm thinking of getting two lights and mounting them on a stand. My dad works for Cree LED (been using their promotional LED flashlights for now which are amazing) and I've talked to him about working to make a LED shop light for me or developing one :xyxthumbs: but in the meantime I'm looking for something to use that isn't crazy expensive

I found this on Harbor Freight, any comments, suggestions, reviews? It's 2 500W halogens. Pretty well priced..
Halogen Shop Light - 500 Watt Dual Head Shop Light (http://www.harborfreight.com/500-watt-dual-head-halogen-shop-light-40123.html)

Too cool! Cree is the best LED designer in the world, hands down. Not to mention, it's an NC company! I knew two grad students at Appalachian who applied there and loved the experience... not sure if a job ever panned out though.
Are you at VT? What are you studying?

I would imagine a photography light would be great for scratch hunting due to it being close to an ideal planar source. From what I've experienced, highlighting swirls and scratches with a point source requires you to be as close to the specular reflection angle as possible. Using more of a planar source like a ceiling fixture or a large reflector floodlight usually gives me better results due to the uniform intensity present in the reflected image. It's just easier to "look" at the surface. In practice however... who knows... things usually behave differently in the real world! The light may be intense enough to drown out reflections from scratches within the reflected image of the lamp itself, or the image might be large, which would mean you would be shifting your head around, constantly.

Color seems to make a huge difference as well... you would want to use a contrasting color when hunting for paint swirls if at all possible. I notice that when I use LED sources with a "hotter" (or bluer) color temperature on my steel grey Honda, the scratches tend to get lost in the reflections from the paint, as they reflect with a similar color. With a "cooler", (more red) source, such as a halogen lamp or tungsten bulb, the scratches will pop out of the background image without problems. Having a variety of source colors, or even filtration, may be helpful... but I'm not 100% sure. Your photography lamp may just be perfect for swirl finding and general illumination after all!

[Hokie335i]

Too cool! Cree is the best LED designer in the world, hands down. Not to mention, it's an NC company! I knew two grad students at Appalachian who applied there and loved the experience... not sure if a job ever panned out though.

Are you at VT? What are you studying?



I would imagine a photography light would be great for scratch hunting due to it being close to an ideal planar source. From what I've experienced, highlighting swirls and scratches with a point source requires you to be as close to the specular reflection angle as possible. Using more of a planar source like a ceiling fixture or a large reflector floodlight usually gives me better results due to the uniform intensity present in the reflected image. It's just easier to "look" at the surface. In practice however... who knows... things usually behave differently in the real world! The light may be intense enough to drown out reflections from scratches within the reflected image of the lamp itself, or the image might be large, which would mean you would be shifting your head around, constantly.



Color seems to make a huge difference as well... you would want to use a contrasting color when hunting for paint swirls if at all possible. I notice that when I use LED sources with a "hotter" (or bluer) color temperature on my steel grey Honda, the scratches tend to get lost in the reflections from the paint, as they reflect with a similar color. With a "cooler", (more red) source, such as a halogen lamp or tungsten bulb, the scratches will pop out of the background image without problems. Having a variety of source colors, or even filtration, may be helpful... but I'm not 100% sure. Your photography lamp may just be perfect for swirl finding and general illumination after all!


Yeah my dad has been there for 6-7 years or so and loves it.

I'm at VT studying industrial and systems engineering with a green engineering minor and business minor.
As for my black car I tried it out tonight with some 65W Cree bulbs and it works very well! Need to try it on a white car though and see. May get another color bulb to try as well. I'll be home in a couple weeks and will pick up a few more sets of bulbs to try out.

[Ike21]

Right on! That's a great field. I took a course in ISE at Applachian and loved it. I was an applied physics major (recently graduated). So, somehow I misunderstood your last post, and thought you had ordered a full photography lamp vs. just the stand. Whoops!
Anyways, glad it worked out! I'm excited to see how color affects things. I wonder if there are any optics articles out there on finding imperfections in clear coats. If not, it might make a really cool research project. The optical theory is simple enough... A scratch ends up causing a difference in the amount of reflected light vs. the rest of an illuminated field at a given point of view. It can be of lesser or greater perceived intensity, depending on how you're illuminating the paint surface.

Also, I'd love to see how a good photo pop up lamp works... Seems like an ideal light source.

Wish I could've done detailing on the side in college... Good way to make some quick extra cash, right? Good luck in your studies!

[Hokie335i]

Right on! That's a great field. I took a course in ISE at Applachian and loved it. I was an applied physics major (recently graduated). So, somehow I misunderstood your last post, and thought you had ordered a full photography lamp vs. just the stand. Whoops!
Anyways, glad it worked out! I'm excited to see how color affects things. I wonder if there are any optics articles out there on finding imperfections in clear coats. If not, it might make a really cool research project. The optical theory is simple enough... A scratch ends up causing a difference in the amount of reflected light vs. the rest of an illuminated field at a given point of view. It can be of lesser or greater perceived intensity, depending on how you're illuminating the paint surface.

Also, I'd love to see how a good photo pop up lamp works... Seems like an ideal light source.

Wish I could've done detailing on the side in college... Good way to make some quick extra cash, right? Good luck in your studies!

Thanks! Yeah I spoke with my dad today about the different light options Cree offers in bulbs. At home I detailed with some large 2x2ft light boards with 150-200 LEDs in them that Cree used for trade shows. They worked great but aren't practical to carry around. This is the only pic I have of one of the boards in my garage that I was using to do some engine work on my old BMW a few years ago...
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq109/maxx919/2003%20ZHP/AFDA7519-B345-47E0-AAC4-90FA82B52C35-4511-000004678B6BFD0C.jpg (http://s438.photobucket.com/user/maxx919/media/2003%20ZHP/AFDA7519-B345-47E0-AAC4-90FA82B52C35-4511-000004678B6BFD0C.jpg.html)

I should be getting a few more lights and I'll post some comparison pics then.