advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

[lightspeed1212]

ok well there are three main things im looking to get in the near future that i still need some help deciding on

1) a pressure washer: for my own personal use at home and also if im out on the road to detail someone else's car. Has to have a soap resuvor, preferably electric, possibly with more than just a spray attachment, and the smaller the better.
2) a swirl finder light that is not 400$ like the 3m one. its again for my personal use and im not doing all that much work for money so i want something that works but won break the bank.
3) lastly im thinking about building a mobile light fixture think a rectangle made out of pvc on wheels with lights that you can set up around the car to light all the surfaces. that beiging said what type of bulbs are best for lighting a car when compounding/ polishing ?

[Marc08EX]

Re: advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

Brinkmann Dual Xenon light is a great swirl finder light that won't break the bank.

Halogen lighting works great for trying to capture swirls and checking your work.

[wifpd4]

Re: advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

Brinkmann Dual Xenon light is a great swirl finder light that won't break the bank.

Halogen lighting works great for trying to capture swirls and checking your work.

Has anyone tried the LED work lights? No sunburn on the back, but are they bright enough?

[BlueZero]

Re: advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

Brinkmann Dual Xenon light is a great swirl finder light that won't break the bank.

Halogen lighting works great for trying to capture swirls and checking your work.

Works for me too!

Hmmm never tried LED but sure would be nice. I just got a 220 lumen LED flashlight I'll have to try that. Would try now but my truck is covered with snow. Grrr

[Michael Stoops]

Re: advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

Sometimes LED lights can actually be too bright, especially if they really concentrate the light as a flashlight usually does. We've played with a few and on lighter metallic paints they're so bright they just blow everything out and you can't see anything. In a work light configuration they're probably better, but not having tried one we can't say for sure. Halogen work lights obviously do work great but the heat can be annoying at times, to say the least. The Brinkmann dual xenon is fantastic for routine spot checking as you go, and at $30 or so on Amazon they're a great deal.

3M has safety glass with little LED lights on the temple of the frames that can be adjusted for angle, and they tend to not be overly bright so they don't wash out what you're looking at. They even come with bifocal lenses so, if like me, you normally need reading glasses to see the finer details you don't have to keep swapping glasses all the time. They may look a little goofy when they're on, but they actually work very well. Using a good swirl finder light as a backup is still a good idea though.

[BlueZero]

Re: advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

I think Mike is right. I tried out my LED flashlight tonight and didn't seem to work. My truck is silver and covered with a layer of road film from the snow storm yesterday but I think it would have been too bright anyway. If anyone has luck with a LED work light please post back and let us know. Would sure be nice to not use those hot halogens.

[PhantomMagician]

Re: advice on tools pressure washer/lighting/swirl finder

i use swiss army LED flash light that have some sort of magnifying glass on it, and it work...
i have try couple of LED flashlight to, as long as it not too bright, it's do the work for me