Inspection Light

ObsessiveAutoDetail

ObsessiveAutoDetail

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I know there are alot of us who use a halogen lights to show swirls and other imperfections while we are working on our vehicles. I for one use the old trusty stand-by - The two light halogen on a tripod. I was wondering if any of you use a more portable or even a handheld light to more easily show clients the imperfections prior to and after paint correction.


-josh
 
Fenix TK10 LED, handheld, lightweight and it shows defects better than halogens.

/thread
 
The Infratech CM5300 is pretty popular. It was actually created for body shops to judge how well they matched paint on resprays. Excellent detailing tool.
 
I have both the infratech and Fenix and IMO I grab for the Fenix 9 times out of 10 to do paint inspection. The CM5300 is great for flat colors but on metallics and flat colors the Fenix is far better, its like a much smaller 3M Sun Gun for spotting defects.
 
Just do a Google search, it should pull something up. It's not really a detailing-specific light, but it's easy enough to find online.
 
Well the fenix has got 1 direct beam coming form only 1 bulb. On Turbo mode (the only mode I use to inspect paint) the light is producing 225 lumens, which is super bright. Most other LED lights have little tiny bulbs scattered in a row, the fenix has 1 bulb that has enough power to see tons of defects and even holograms.. this is similar to the 3M SG that has 1 direct bulb used for inspection.

Some examples

DSC_0219.jpg


DSC_0218.jpg


Good defect spotting with the standing halogen but the very fine swirls and holos were not picked up even under the direct beam of the infratech

DSC_0203.jpg


Now under the fenix, look at the tiny rids and holos picked up

DSC_0201.jpg
 
veyronracer91 said:
Holy cow. I think I'll have to start shopping for a Fenix. Thanks dsms!
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It will really help you on those tough paints where its difficult to spot defects. I no longer need sunlight to ensure I get 100% results, hologram free and all. Im glad I showed you the light, its just awesome!

I remember when Bob from Auto Concierge showed me this light during SEMA this year and I was like hot damn I gotta get me one too :cheers:
 
First time I saw a detailer using that light, I was like why is a car detailer using a tactical LED flashlight?! Now I see why. :D
 
dsms said:
It will really help you on those tough paints where its difficult to spot defects. I no longer need sunlight to ensure I get 100% results, hologram free and all. Im glad I showed you the light, its just awesome!

I remember when Bob from Auto Concierge showed me this light during SEMA this year and I was like hot damn I gotta get me one too :cheers:
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Hey dsms, the TK11 has240 lumens for 11 bucks more, is it worth it?
 
My wife bought me the Fenix TK10 (dsms's is green mine is black) for my birthday last month, and a 10 pack of batteries. i'll be moving next month into a house with a nice size garage, then i'll be using it along with my halogens. I can't thank dsms enough, based on his nice crisp and clear photos of it in action, i wrote it on my wishlist for my birthday. The turbo mode is amazing, the price is worth it, although my wife won't tell me how much she paid for it, she's not supposed to though it was a birthday gift, she did say for a flashlight the price was high. My father-in-law came over last week and he's been wanting one for a long time, he's hooked on detailing even more now since my wife and I bought him some PB Natty's blue for his birthday ( he's used OTC wax for years, he used the Natty's and admitted it was the wettest he's seen, that's just to get him hooked though, the detailing products only addiction has started) . He can forget about wrapping his fingers around my Fenix TK10.
 
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i am somewhat of a flashaholic. there is nothing better in my opinion than a bright LED at detecting flaws.

if you dont want to spend that kind of money you can also go to walmart and grab some less expensive LEDs. just look for something with a minimum of 100 lumens
 
i think it would...do you have an LED head on it i just think the LED works a little bit better.

the other thing you would want to do is get some rechargeable batteries. these lights eat through batteries in a heartbeat
 
_M_ said:
i think it would...do you have an LED head on it i just think the LED works a little bit better.

the other thing you would want to do is get some rechargeable batteries. these lights eat through batteries in a heartbeat
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They do make some LED heads for them. Haven't found a rechargeable CR123 battery, and it takes 3 of them.
 
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