Need Help With Garage Lighting

[Scott@IncrediblyDetailed]

So I'm going to be renovating my garage/detailing space.

It's 23ft x 26ft.

I'm thinking T8 bulbs (not sure which exact ones yet).

Ceiling: Should I have 4 fixtures of 4 bulbs so (16 bulbs total) or 2 fixtures of 4 bulbs and 2 fixtures of 2 bulbs (12 bulbs total)?

Wall: 1 fixture of 2 bulbs on each side wall.

I don't want to go overboard but I also want to be able to see well enough to do interior work and not be completely surprised when I pull it into the sunlight. I also have two 1400 watt halogen work lights for correction work.

Any input or articles I should read or example I should see would be great.

Thanks!

[Jaddie]

Dear Scott

Do a search for "light" here, on autopiaforums.com, and live2detail.com.

I don't know much. My paw-in-law installed four of the regular fluorescent lights and it made a big improvement for me, but I believe I'd like four more. I'm using cheap stuff. All the fixtures and bulbs cost less than $60.

Others have done much more expensive jobs that are much more impressive.

It's difficult to detail what you cannot see. But I try.

[Pureshine]

Day light bulbs is what I use they make it very bright.

[dsg03gt]

I agree with pureshine. I just installed a couple lights in my garage and the day light bulbs are very bright. My garage is to small to detail out of, so I can't comment on that but the bulbs really brightened the space up

[jpegs13]

I have these and they're great!
Lithonia Lighting 6-Light T5 High Output White Fluorescent High Bay-IBZ 654 at The Home Depot

[Mike lambert]

6 bulb fixtures and t 8 bulbs

[Scott@IncrediblyDetailed]

I have these and they're great!
Lithonia Lighting 6-Light T5 High Output White Fluorescent High Bay-IBZ 654 at The Home Depot

My ceiling isn't "ceilings 15 ft. to 40 ft." I'm more at around 10-12.

How high are yours?

[jpegs13]

My ceiling isn't "ceilings 15 ft. to 40 ft." I'm more at around 10-12.

How high are yours?

12'

[spiralout462]

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

[Dellinger]

Scott,

I have a similar size detached shop... just a bit larger (25' x 32')

I have 2, 4', 4 bulb T5HO fixtures mounted longitude, spaced evenly from the center of the ceiling.

I have 2, 8', 2 bulb T12HO fixtures mounted latitude wise, spaced evenly from center of ceiling.

I have 2 more, 8', 2 bulb T12HO fixtures mounted latitude wise, angled at 45 degrees (down towards floor) in corner of ceiling/ wall adjoining (one on each side of shop)

I have 2, 8', 2 bulb T12s mounted 3' off the ground on either side of shop, centered latitude wise.

I have 4, 4', 4 bulb T8s mounted elsewhere around the shop to cover every angle.

Needless to say... it's not enough... especially when applying Opti Coat and trying to view "all the angles". I find that I turn a lot of them off and just use halogen stands and some LED floor lights, most of the time when correcting.

For interior work... I can have all the lights on... and black trim and black plastic fail to render well. I still find 'stuff' after viewing the interior in the sun.

For what it's worth.
-Dellinger