Thought you found all the uses for flashlights?

Hey guys, just showing what I use my Fenix TK10 for most of the time. Detailing and paint correction.

Before:

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh68/qbmurderer13/blackfitdetail034.jpg

After:

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh68/qbmurderer13/blackfitdetail035.jpg


I love it since its small and easily fits in my pocket. I bought it for detailing purposes but use it for just about everything. Got bit by the flashlight bug

Although I normally use my 500w halogens for this work though.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh68/qbmurderer13/blackfitdetail022.jpg

How do you get those little spider web scores out, anyway?

Using an abrasive polish and an orbital buffer. Its about an 8 hour process, sometimes longer depending on size and condition of the car.

They're more commonly called swirls and are usually caused by improper washing technique or products.

cool.

Neat application for a flashlight. :thumbsup:

(Btw, you probably want to resize those photos a bit. They're larger than the 800 * 800 pixel max limit that the rules allow.)

Your photos are too large. Please re-size them to comply with Rule #3.

WHT_GE8 said:

Using an abrasive polish and an orbital buffer. Its about an 8 hour process, sometimes longer depending on size and condition of the car.

They're more commonly called swirls and are usually caused by improper washing technique or products.

Click to expand...

You use an orbital? I'm surprised with your level of involvement you're not using a PC, Makita, or Flex

Tip for all you guys out there, don't use normal towels to wash your car! At the very least get a decent soap (Meg's Gold Class is widely available) and get a microfiber mitt ($4-5 will get you something MUCH better than a bath towel)

Why does the first pic appear to be a black car and the second a silver car? Is it not a before and after pic?

Looks like we may have a fellow "Autopia'n" here :wave:


Nice swirl removal job, I used to do the same thing professionally, but now just do it on my own time. Lot's of good people on that forum as well, it's the CPF equivalent for auto detailer's

DimmerD said:

Why does the first pic appear to be a black car and the second a silver car? Is it not a before and after pic?

Click to expand...

The power of a good detail. In much the same way as you have seen some black cars that are heavily swirl look flat and almost whitish because it's catching all of the light and scattering it, the camera captures the swirls well because they are more easily focusable, while in the second pictue it should be a deep, liquid gloss, but evidently the lack of swirl makes it slightly harder for the camera to focus, as well aspossibly because some of the reflected light is directed at the lens.

Surprised there are a couple of autopians on here! I have to confess the first time I saw a Fenix was on autopia (someone had a "light of truth") and at the time I was aghast by how much he spent on a flashlight... flash forward a few months, and here I am, lol

tnforever said:

You use an orbital? I'm surprised with your level of involvement you're not using a PC, Makita, or Flex

Tip for all you guys out there, don't use normal towels to wash your car! At the very least get a decent soap (Meg's Gold Class is widely available) and get a microfiber mitt ($4-5 will get you something MUCH better than a bath towel)

Click to expand...

I am using a Flex. I meant orbital as in random orbital. Is there a difference?

Autopia FTW :twothumbs

WHT_GE8 said:

I am using a Flex. I meant orbital as in random orbital. Is there a difference?

Autopia FTW :twothumbs

Click to expand...

No, its just orbital buffers generally refer to the $30 deals you find at every hardware store (the things that are just a pad with motor on top.

Then you have normal dual actions (PC, G110, UDM) that stop spinning if enough pressure is applied (just vibrates) and forced dual actions (flex, makita) that force the pad to spin at a few hundred rpm

Finally, you have rotaries...

A 200+ lumens LED light is excellent for locating fine surface scratches on a car's paint job. Especially on a silver or white car where such scratches can be very difficult to see....

Such a light also comes in handy when you have access to a color-matching, universal, compound designed to buff out such surface scratches. Nothing like standing by the hood of your ride, searching for the same surface scratches that took you 5 seconds to find, and now after 5 minutes; you can't find them. :twothumbs

On a totally related topic to your actual title but totally unrelated to your thread on cars, I found a nice usage for my LED flashlights the other night when I came home.

Try not to laugh to loud. I did a sweep of my front yard with the light the other night when I came home about 01:00. I noticed that some of the ivy was a different color than the rest and said, that sure is odd.

It turns out the weeds were lighting up a pale greyish bluish color while the ivy was a very dark green. I could spot the weeds and differentiate them from the Ivy that I had never noticed in broad daylight. Next day I ripped out a whole bunch of them. Its amazing how these things just keep showing me things in a "whole new light".