Remodeling A Garage - Lighting | FerrariChat
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Remodeling A Garage - Lighting

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by cls, Sep 20, 2015.

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  1. cls

    cls Formula 3

    Jun 12, 2007
    1,663
    Los Angeles/Montreal
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #1 cls, Sep 20, 2015
    Having sorted out what to do for garage flooring (tiles out, grind and epoxy in,) I have started looking at lighting. There must be something better than standard fluorescents. I would like good work lighting as well as lighting for evaluating body work, paint work, and detailing.

    While we're remodeling, we're staying in a place that has LED garage lighting. I have to say, it's awful. The quality of light is OK, but it's really difficult to see defects, especially in paint for paint correction. Because I will be doing body work on vintage cars as well as detailing my modern cars, proper lighting is a must. LED or Fluorescents aren't eliminated, but they have to be good for working on cars. Being well designed is a plus too.

    Any suggestions?
     
  2. tundraphile

    tundraphile F1 Veteran

    May 16, 2007
    5,083
    Missouri
    #2 tundraphile, Sep 20, 2015
    I found that unless I was willing to add more circuits to handle the extra wattage, flourescents were really the only way to go. LEDs still cost a lot more in the $ per lumen comparison, even if they produce more light per watt and last longer. As you say the quality of that light doesn't seem the same either.

    I had three bays and six standard outlets, and a 20 amp breaker circuit. I could have went with three 48" tube flourescent fixtures per bay and had 11' ceilings so it might have been OK. I ended up for an interim plan using two large (65W, which are 300W equivalent) CFL bulbs per outlet using a duplex type outlet adapter. 2700k bulbs were $20 each at Lowe's and put out 3600 lumens each IIRC. Twelve of them in the garage and they provide plenty of light, even if they are not the most elegant of solutions for the time being.

    The pictures of my garage floor in your floor thread were taken using these bukbs. Plenty of light for working on cars or bikes.
     
  3. V-TWELVE

    V-TWELVE Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jan 1, 2007
    1,800
    Vancouver, BC
    #3 V-TWELVE, Sep 20, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2015
    Vault Garage is a vender here and they have some shop lighting on their website. Have no experience with it but seems pretty good from what they say about it. One thing about light is, the more the better as long as you don't get a lot of glare from too strong of focused output.
     
  4. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Dec 31, 2005
    7,090
    lexington ky usa
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    mitchell barnes
    #4 bundas, Sep 20, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  5. geochin

    geochin Formula Junior

    Jul 3, 2012
    306
    NJ
    Full Name:
    George
    #5 geochin, Sep 21, 2015
    I installed bad ass lights and they r great although not cheap. The lights are bright so I can see everything on the cars
     
  6. cls

    cls Formula 3

    Jun 12, 2007
    1,663
    Los Angeles/Montreal
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #6 cls, Sep 21, 2015
    I saw Badass (LED,) and the LEDs looks great on Bundas' garage. For work though, do the LEDs light up the space as well as show flaws? Fluorescents have long been used by body shops and detailers because the light shows imperfections well. My experience with LEDs is they don't show imperfections well, so I hesitate to use them.

    I do see on the Vault site some pictures of track lights. That's an interesting option because they can be switched between LED, incandescent, and fluorescent with a bulb change.
     
  7. tundraphile

    tundraphile F1 Veteran

    May 16, 2007
    5,083
    Missouri
    #7 tundraphile, Sep 21, 2015
  8. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 6, 2002
    79,379
    Houston, Texas
    Full Name:
    Bubba
    #8 BigTex, Sep 21, 2015
    only if the track has a stadard line voltage toggle swtch.. If you dim them the heads must match the dimmer.
     
  9. Arnie

    Arnie Formula Junior

    Oct 5, 2011
    465
    New Jersey
    #9 Arnie, Sep 21, 2015
    I have 60" florescent bulbs 4 in each housing. The key is to use Daylight bulbs they work much better and produce a bright white light that resists the cold. You want outdoor bulbs.
     

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