Halogen for inspecting marring/buffer swirls/compound residue/holograms

[spinz]

Hi,

I have a Brinkmann Dual Xenon Swirl Finder, it works well when inspecting swirls, but i noticed it is almost impossible to inspect any marring/buffer swirls/compound residue using this tool.

Lesson learned when i was detailing a black car, i didn't notice the holograms until the next day i put the car under the sun... Fortunately the holograms were caused by the compound residue.

Currently I'm still deciding between a 500 watt halogen or 1000 watt halogen work light.

But i have a concern, how well does a halogen work light help in finding marring/buffer swirls/compound residue/holograms? Or only sunlight will help?

[ski2]

Single diode LED flood lamps do a fantastic job of showing defects, they can be used on a light stand during actual polishing and they produce very little heat.

Here's a thread from Autopia Forums about garage lighting ---- if you look through the thread you'll see some great examples of inexpensive LED set ups using photographic light stands

Finally a comprehensive review of the best bulbs out there... - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum

[af90]

The only downfall to LED is the lumens, many LED setups may barely top 2000 lumens where as a 500 watt Halogen puts out around 5000 lumens. Personally I like my Brinkmann Dual LED light and 1000 watt halogen set up. And the cost difference is hardly made up for unless you're using it for hours per day. Lowe's and Home Depot both sell a 1000 watt 2 Halogen light (2 x 500W, 10000 lumens) stand for roughly $35 and a single diode LED (1720 lumens) for around $85.

Ski2's thread is great, I talked to the OP and got some info on it, overall though it costs more than a single diode setup from the stores above though. 2 Par30 bulbs run roughly $60 if you're lucky then around $20-30 for the stand and light plug ins for less lumens usually around 1600. The info is still very solid.