Shop Lighting

[Pureshine]

When I'm doing paint correction I turn off the the top lights. I got mine at Home Depot they are mostly T5 daylights.

[Mike lambert]

This is what I use,t8,daylight

[ski2]

Here's a great thread from Autopia Car Care Forums that has allot of good info on shop lighting Finally a comprehensive review of the best bulbs out there... - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum

I just do my own cars so didn't want to invested too many $$$ in lighting upgrades. In my two car garage I have a 2 bulb T8 fixture running length wise centered over each half of the garage and 2 T8 bulb fixtures at each end (centered between the 2 lengthwise fixtures) which form a box so if I pull the a car in the center of the garage it is surrounded by the 4 fixtures. Then I have 2 100W CFLs in clamp lights positioned low on each sidewall for lighting of the vertical panels. I've found it enough light for general detailing like washing, quick detailer and applying a coat of LSP. When polishing I have a 90W single diode LED on a photographic light stand that is easy to move around and position on the work area (shown in the above mentioned thread) that does a fantastic job of highliting swirls when polishing with all the florescent lights turned off. All the bulbs are 5000K which is a very neutral light--6500K is too blue and 4100K are too yellow.

[valaire_moore]

I am using led lights in my garage.. It is much brighter and very effective than the standard light bulbs.. Also, it is long lasting, use less electricity and are very powerful..

[tcrummitt87]

If i remember correctly Jason Rose from Meguiars said on Ammo NYC's podcast that you're looking for lights around 5,800K

[Christopher.Brown]

The color temperature of mid day sun rays is 5578 Kelvin, so effectively ~5600K.

I have just (last week) published an article behind the science of how light works and its impact upon elements of correction. It briefly speaks of the current lighting technologies and their application toward detailing, but this will be covered in greater depth in another installment.

There are MANY MANY MANY facets of lighting technology and lighting techniques that beg discussions... many of these I will touch upon in the subsequent parts of the series. It was impossible to include in one article, even if it was 9 pdf pages.

I will say this however: directional LED's are far and away the most effective manufactured lighting source for paint correction.

[Kappy]

The color temperature of mid day sun rays is 5578 Kelvin, so effectively ~5600K.

I have just (last week) published an article behind the science of how light works and its impact upon elements of correction. It briefly speaks of the current lighting technologies and their application toward detailing, but this will be covered in greater depth in another installment.

There are MANY MANY MANY facets of lighting technology and lighting techniques that beg discussions... many of these I will touch upon in the subsequent parts of the series. It was impossible to include in one article, even if it was 9 pdf pages.

I will say this however: directional LED's are far and away the most effective manufactured lighting source for paint correction.

I went to your site and read the article, which I found to be very informative. Thanks for taking the time to write it, and I'm looking forward to future installments and lighting recommendations.

[theblob640]

I know this is a really old thread but for 48" light fixtures, do you recommend the placement of the fixtures parallel with the car (vertical) or horizontal? I am planning on placing 2 fixtures per car space (4 fixtures total). Thanks.

[TTQ B4U]

I put mine vertical or parellel with the cars and am very happy. I have four dual bulb T5's and two 100w+ LED's in my door opener and combined have over 41k lumens. It's bright. I have a 22ft x 22ft garage.

The T5's are High Output. For $37ea at Home depot they can't be beat. Bulbs are like $10ea. I looked at LED's but they are half as bright and cost 2-3x as much per fixture.

Here's a reflection of it off my hood

Here you can see how it lights up the cars at night.

Night shot of a customers car under the same lighting. This is off to the other side too. Center position is great for lighting and where I do most of my details.

[theblob640]

I put mine vertical or parellel with the cars and am very happy. I have four dual bulb T5's and two 100w+ LED's in my door opener and combined have over 41k lumens. It's bright. I have a 22ft x 22ft garage.

The T5's are High Output. For $37ea at Home depot they can't be beat. Bulbs are like $10ea. I looked at LED's but they are half as bright and cost 2-3x as much per fixture.

Here's a reflection of it off my hood

Here you can see how it lights up the cars at night.

Night shot of a customers car under the same lighting. This is off to the other side too. Center position is great for lighting and where I do most of my details.

Thanks for your reply! I'm assuming you also have 2 2-bulb fixtures per car spot as well. Are they directly above the vehicles? Is it possible to provide a picture of the placement of the fixtures with the care underneath? Thanks!