Inspection lights for Car Detailing

IndeedSS said:
The Brinkmann swirl finder light is only $35 and works great. I like out of the box ideas but not sure the time involved is worth the few bucks savings.....
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I think they are trying to build an alternative to the $400 3M Sun Gun for about the 10th of the price
 
IndeedSS said:
So what you are saying is the Brinkmann has better correction than the sun?
:D
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Yes ! You will think you did a great job as long as you do not go out in the sun.
 
I guess I will use the San Diego sun for my future corrections :coolgleam:
 
FUNX725 said:
Meant to say: Thanks...earlier for the links to the DIY-selfers. :)

Bob
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I built one of these DIY Sun Guns this afternoon. I bought the cheapest 12v drill I could find and cheap (35w MR16) halogen downlighter, 10 minutes work and now have a very bright swirl finding torch. Better bulbs are available but I wanted to test the basics first. Total cost was half that of the Brinkman
 
Lowejackson said:
I built one of these DIY Sun Guns this afternoon. I bought the cheapest 12v drill I could find and cheap (35w MR16) halogen downlighter, 10 minutes work and now have a very bright swirl finding torch. Better bulbs are available but I wanted to test the basics first. Total cost was half that of the Brinkman
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Where did you source the parts to build this for $16? For that price others may want to do the same.:props:
 
Lowejackson said:
I built one of these DIY Sun Guns this afternoon. I bought the cheapest 12v drill I could find and cheap (35w MR16) halogen downlighter, 10 minutes work and now have a very bright swirl finding torch. Better bulbs are available but I wanted to test the basics first. Total cost was half that of the Brinkman
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I'm going to build mine (from your step-by-step instructions links :dblthumb2:) with the same halogen lamp that the 3M Sun Gun uses....the 35w color-corrected, full-spectrum, halogen lamp, along with a miniature ceramic lamp base, when the parts arrive.

Since I'm going to use an old drill I had lying around, and the batteries and charger are no longer usable, I'm going to hard-wire it with a 120v-12v convertor (from an old computer set-up) with a 30ft cord length.

Total Cost (USD): $10.93

-Drill(with carrying case)...............$ 00.00
-Replacement Cord....................... 00.00
-Halogen Lamp............................. 7.95
-Lamp Base (socket)..................... 2.98


When I find a really cheap-priced drill, I'll make a more portable one with the 12v battery/120v-12v set-up. I'll just have to get another lamp base. May try it with the 50w lamp for comparison sake, though.

Again I say thanks for your informative posts.

:)

Bob
 
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If it's lumens you pursue, look no further than "The Torch"

4100 lumens, hot enough to start fires, fry food and stun large animals at close distance. Too bad the battery life is a measly 5 min. Not bad for $150.
 
After charging the batteries on my DIY torch I was able to test it on my car. The outcome was I had no swirls, which is a bit strange as under street lights they are brutally visible. I went back to the original thread on Detailingworld and no one else seems to be reporting this problem. My first thoughts were maybe the bulb was somehow unsuitable but there were plenty of people who were using the same dirt cheap bulb as me without problems. I don't doubt a better bulb would be more effective but I decided to try another option, my neighbours cars. So during the middle of the night I wander around and shone the light on various cars and in nearly all cases the swirls became clear. Luckily I was not arrested and my wife is very understanding (sometimes).

I am not sure why my grey/blue paintwork does not work with my new torch. I am convinced it is not about the colour of the bulb as my street light is a horrible yellow and it does a great job at highlighting paint defects. I just have no idea why the torch fails with my paint colour but works very well with other cars :confused:
 
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