3M Sun Gun

[AP2TUDE]

I am a professional detailer and I am looking for a light that I can use to spot swirl marks and other paint defects.

There are a few popular models used in the industry. The dual Xenon Brinkmann seems to be very popular. The less price conscious out there simply opt for the 3M Sun Gun.

The Sun Gun is extremely bright, and the bulb is engineered to mimic actual sunlight. Although its original intended purpose wasn't for detailing, more for paint color matching, it is perfect for what I do.

I want to know if there is anything out there that you can recommend that would be similar. Brightness is key. I don't mind rechargable, batteries, etc. It just needs to be bright enough to really highlight the defects.

Right now for my main defect detection, I simply use two 1000W halogens mounted on a tripod. I typically keep them around 5ft from the car, and they are excellent at highlighting problems.

So based on that, anything that you guys can recommend would be awesome. I am sure there is so much out there that the detailing community is missing out on, so enlighten me. HA HA HA.

Thanks a lot.

Jonathan

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

The obvious would be to use what you know will be good, the sun gun. On the other hand, if you halogens work well already, why swap them for something else now?

 

[AP2TUDE]

The Sun Gun is typically around $400. So it is fairly pricey.

I know that it is functional for my purpose, but it is expensive primarily because of its color correctness, not its brightness. I am sure that there is another light out there that is similarly bright, albeit without the correct color, for significantly cheaper.

The halogens are good for stationary work, but if you are walking around a car trying to make sure that you got everything, moving the halogens around with you and checking is much more difficult than simply having a light for spot checking. Not to mention that there are areas like hoods, roofs, deck lids, etc. that are very difficult to light correctly with the halogens, which would be considerably easier to light with some type of handheld source.

 

[Gunner12]

Are the Sun Guns incandescent?

LEDs and HIDs might not have the right colors and Incans might not have a long enough runtime(3000+ lumen incans typically have a runtime of around 10-20 minutes).

Maybe the right filter would help?

:welcome:

 

[AP2TUDE]

Yes it is incandescent.

Honestly, I am not worried that much about run time. 10-20 minutes is MORE than enough.

 

[HKJ]

Something like this: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200230674_20023067 might be usefull.

It is a cheap but powerfull halogen lamp.

 

[Patriot]

Jonathan, welcome to CPF!

:welcome:


I've spent about 20 years in the automotive industry and have found that fluorescent lighting generally makes paint swirls, spots and other imperfections stand out like crazy. Although fluorescent light work really well, I've noticed at most places detailers just don't have enough of it. About a year ago we put triple the amount of overhead fluorescent tubes and the detailers were very happy with the result. If the cars looked good under that light, they looked great everywhere else.

 

[Gunner12]

Maybe a mod similar to this would work, with a smoother beam and maybe bigger battery.

Also look at this thread.

They are require some skill and time though.

How many lumen do you think you'll need?

 

[AP2TUDE]

I am not sure as to how many lumens I am looking for.

I was looking at a bunch of pages about the Sun Gun before I posted trying to find some more specific information for you guys.

There have been a few comparisons done by other detailers in regards to the type of defects that are able to be spotted with certain lights.

http://www.autobarn.net/bkm800-2200.html

This light is very popular among most detailers, it is bright enough to highlight a great deal of defects, although there were some that it wasn't able to show that the Sun Gun was.

As for flourescents, I have plenty. To cover a single garage space I have roughly 20 6ft bulbs.

The difference is that in spotting particular defects, you need a single light source. Since flourescents are more of a flood type of light, they light the whole surface which helps to smooth out some defects. If you look very closely at the paint it does show them all, but it hides them more from a slight distance.

When you are dealing with more pinpoint incandescents, like the halogens, it gives you much more of a halo effect which is very helpful in highlighting specific defects in the paint.

A setup like this works awesome for most work. It allows you to light up a large surface and work through it all. But when you are dealing with very specific defects, you need to see them from multiple angles to make sure they are gone. This is hard with a halogen as it tends to wash out sometimes. Having a small handheld is beneficial because you can move your viewing angle very easily. This is what I am looking for as I deal with a lot of high end cars and concours work, so I can't afford to miss anything. Lighting is a huge part of the job, and strangely many detailers seem to ignore this.

This is why I am coming to you guys, you know this stuff.

Thanks a lot for all the help so far, I hope that I am giving you enough background info to be helpful.

 

[ambientmind]

Its a little different purpose, but when i'm detailing my truck, i used my novatac in the dark to spot problem areas. the led seemed to bring out the fine scratches and swirls better than anything else (including the sun). I think the key was that it was in the dark, so the reflections stood out much better. i'm not sure if you can make your shop dark or not, it looks like you have some windows. i would pick up pretty much any bright (over 100 lumens) led light and give it a shot. the higher color temps (around 6000k) actually seemed to bring out more of the defects at least to me. check deal extreme, or kaidomain for some cheaper led lights, or check the B/S/T forum on here to get a great deal on something. i'd say for $20-40 you should be able to find something that does the trick. and hey, if it doesnt work, you get another flashlight! sweet!

edit:
you could try this one, its cheap and used common AA batteries. I bought one for my dad and he loves it! DX does take a couple weeks for shipping though...and it out of stock for another 4 days right now.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4238
if you need something right now, check lowes for the 2C Cree taskforce light and give that a shot.

 

[ginaz]

i agree with the above. last summer i had spent a long day washing and waxing and when i was walking the dogs later that night the led showed me quite a bit of swirls and scratches that i had not seen in the sun.