krewsman

Dylan and Adam, if I wasn't already helping out at Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle for you that weekend, you better believe I would be there to help!
 
Maybe we can cut me in half and send half to Ohio and half to Carlisle?

We have learned proper lighting is important when chasing swirls. I have been using a pair of 500w halogen lamps on a stand for several years. These work great, and are nice to be around in the winter, but they are brutal in the warmer months. I have seen the LED work lights (pic below) with a similar setup. They are much cooler to work around, but the light is not as bright as the halogens and do not show imperfections as well.

 
I have seen a few different DIY LED light stand builds on other forums, and after seeing Sizzle Chest’s setup I decided to give it a try. Most of the parts are fairly inexpensive, using lightweight photography equipment, but the bulbs are pricey!
 
I started with a stand that included a carrying bag - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DYHRH4?
psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 
This stand has a minimum height of 53”, and a maximum of 100”. It works great for hoods, roofs, and trunks, but just OK for sides. For that reason I am looking at 2 other stands:
 
This one that has a minimum of 33”, max of 80” - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PEUA30/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2W8PMFWAIX1V2&coliid=I2S0K4VP91Z62V&psc=1

 
 
Or this one that is much shorter – Min 17”, max 40”
http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Collapsible-Aluminium-Photography-Portrait/dp/B00X5GCG12/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1433004584&sr=1-5

 
 
The second stand includes a ‘stud’ that is attached to the lower leg to allow a second light head to be attached. The downside is the stud must be removed to collapse the stand. There are clamps available to allow you to mount a light head almost anywhere and if I go with the first stand I would add one of these – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00355GFMO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2W8PMFWAIX1V2&coliid=IB3IMSHH6UKOR

 
 
The light ‘head’ is the simple part. It is a double mount bracket, with an on/off switch for each lamp, and a short 9’ cord. This just slides over the top of the stand and is tightened down. There are other fiddly bits on the bracket, but as I am not a photographer, I have no idea what they are for.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZUVX8G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2W8PMFWAIX1V2&coliid=I1UB3VZ74Z4A4V

 
 
So far so good, less than $30 (light head $10.99 + stand $15.99).
 
Now about the light bulbs: There are lots and lots of different types of LED light bulbs out there but to replicate the sun you need a daylight bulb – somewhere around 5000 kelvin on the color temp scale.
 

 
I was able to find my bulb at Lowe’s, but it seems to be an item they are discontinuing –
http://www.lowes.com/pd_150661-75774-LPAR3814005KLEDG5___?productId=50107550&pl=1&Ntt=led+par38+daylight
 

 
It is a size PAR38, 23W (120W equivalent), 5000K, Daylight, Dimmable floodlight bulb. The only store in my area that carried them was the near my house and I picked up 4. Even on ‘closeout’ they were $25.99 EACH! The upside to these bulbs is they have a life of 25,000 hours, so unless you break them, they should last a long, long time.
 
Speaking of breaking them, this setup is very top heavy. The first time I used it I had the stand set at about 6’, bumped into it, and it fell on to the trunk of the A8 I was polishing! After a few choice words, my stomach dropped when I saw white marks on the paint! The heat fins from the bulb had marked the paint. Luckily it was just paint transfer and was quickly removed with the polisher, with no further damage to the car or the lights. After that I decided to look for a simple fix and found it at a local thrift store:
Discarded ankle weights!
 

 
I paid $3 for one at the thrift store, but they are about $17 new (I bought a pair when I got tired of driving around to the Goodwill’s).  This is one I found (they only had one), and it easily fits over the upright part of the stand, and provides just enough weight to offset the bulbs. I removed 2 of the weight packs, so it is probably at 4 pounds. The plus with these is they wrap around the light stand when it is folded. 

 
 
So now we are up to $80
Stand          $15.99
Light head    10.99
2 LED bulbs  50.00
Weights           3.00
Not too bad and much cheaper than a pair of the LED work lights with a stand.
Here is what you get:

 
 
So how well do they work?
A shot of both lights on full: The halogen mounting bracket puts them farther apart than the LED bracket, but that is not really an issue:

 
LED:


 
Halogen:


 
 
Why are they better then Halogens?
Front of lights

 
vs.

 
Now the temp at the back:

 
vs.

 
Other options:
You could add a boom to put the light over a flat surface (hood, roof, etc.)  
 

 
 
Conclusions:
I really enjoy working with the LED lights. They are more comfortable to work around, and I prefer the whiter light they produce.  I think they show more defects too.
They also draw less power, so no more worry about tripping a fuse when using the lights and the polisher.
 
 
Please feel free to ask questions or suggest improvements. I am not a photographer, nor an electrical engineer, so there are probably better ways to do this!
 

Thanks Dylan!  Just upgraded your title.....

Working in the same building Cyclos are made as I do now, and having worked at Adam's as the development guy who brought the current generation pads to market I can shed some light on this -
 
The pads will 'work' with the Cyclo ProGuard plates, but I wouldn't recommend it. The overhang 'bumper' of the ProGuard hangs out awkwardly beyond the edges of any of the Adam's pads. If you're running a factory Cyclo Model 5 with ProGuard plates I'd recommend sticking to Genuine Cyclo Accessories, including the pads. 

If you want to run Adam's pads I'm certain they can set you up with the Adam's backing plates. No sense in risking an issue over a relatively inexpensive part that can be changed out to suit whatever direction you want to go. Your Cyclo would have shipped with the flat wrench to easily swap out plates/attachments. If you need one Adam's or Cyclo can help you get one. 

In all honesty, each polisher that we offer is a good machine, otherwise we wouldn't carry it, but some of them do have a higher learning curve, such as the Flex. To me, and others may disagree, the 3 best random orbital polishers for beginner to intermediate level hobbyists that Adam's offers would be the Porter Cable 7424XP, the Rupes LHR 15ES Bigfoot, and the Cyclo Model 5-Pro Mark II, with the Rupes 15 and the Cyclo edging out over the PC for ease of use and comfort. The Porter Cable is a great machine to learn machine polishing for someone that might be on the fence and doesn't know if they want to invest a significant amount of money into polishing their own vehicles, but there is a reason the other machines cost more than double the PC, and the first time you use one of them you will understand why. I thoroughly enjoy using my Cyclo (which I went into great detail about in a post yesterday) because the dual 4" pad setup is incredibly smooth yet you can get into tighter areas with it; but I find myself wanting to buy a Rupes 15 too because it has a nice quality feel to it, and it is just as enjoyable to use
 
With the Flex, it is a hybrid machine that also has forced rotation as well as random orbits, so it can be more work to control smoothly and it does have some serious strength and correcting power because of that. I had one of my friends that regularly polishes cars now with his Porter Cable try out my Flex, and he immediately said "wow, this thing is more difficult to use" and handed it back to me (we were working together on a Ferrari 550 Maranello) to which I explained it just requires a little different technique and practice with the machine to become comfortable with it.
 
The Rupes Mini is an awesome little machine for spot corrections, which is why I picked up one of those as well, but it's not really something I would polish an entire car with. I find that I don't even grab my cordless drill with the adapter backing plate and 4" pad much anymore, because the Rupes Mini will take care of most jobs no problem.
 
Finally, the Rupes LHR 21ES Bigfoot is an excellent machine just as the Rupes LHR 15ES is, just with a larger 21mm throw to the pad face. For large trucks, suv's, and cars with big flat body panels, this machine is perfect with the 7" pads, but with something with a lot of complex curves it can be a little more difficult to use. For example, this past summer at Corvettes at Carlisle, I was working on a beautiful new black C7 Stingray Z51 package, and the big curves and valleys in the hood made it a little more of a challenge to get the big 7" pad to flow with those curves properly.
 
I hope that helps with your decision and didn't add any confusion David, but please let us know if you have any other questions

Nice write-up Dave! We all had a productive morning making Mike & Tammy's car look outstanding, Bird bomb etching, bug guts and residue, scratches, key marks, holograms & swirls for the most part just disappeared under the Rupes/ Carlisle Eastern Events Team attack. The smile on Mike's face said it all when we called him over.
 
There was a scary moment when I saw some black streaks on the paint in a corner and a door handle. But as Dave noted above, these were just marks from the neoprene pads and were quickly banished with a little GooGone.
 
I especially liked the longer cords on all of the Rupes machines, and those cords are very flexible unlike some others that I have worked with. My only complaint MIGHT be, and keep in mind that we were working in Dave's garage with 4 machines running at the same time, is that the machines all have a higher-pitched sound that hurt my old ears, so you may want to consider wearing some sort of hearing protection while you work.
 
Other than that, I will say with the heartiest of recommendations that the Rupes Terrific Trio of Tools was a great addition to the Adam's arsenal of polishing equipment!

Nice write-up Dave! We all had a productive morning making Mike & Tammy's car look outstanding, Bird bomb etching, bug guts and residue, scratches, key marks, holograms & swirls for the most part just disappeared under the Rupes/ Carlisle Eastern Events Team attack. The smile on Mike's face said it all when we called him over.
 
There was a scary moment when I saw some black streaks on the paint in a corner and a door handle. But as Dave noted above, these were just marks from the neoprene pads and were quickly banished with a little GooGone.
 
I especially liked the longer cords on all of the Rupes machines, and those cords are very flexible unlike some others that I have worked with. My only complaint MIGHT be, and keep in mind that we were working in Dave's garage with 4 machines running at the same time, is that the machines all have a higher-pitched sound that hurt my old ears, so you may want to consider wearing some sort of hearing protection while you work.
 
Other than that, I will say with the heartiest of recommendations that the Rupes Terrific Trio of Tools was a great addition to the Adam's arsenal of polishing equipment!

We understand the issue here friends, and certainly, we would love to have a perfect solution in every product.  I am to blame.  It's my fault that we reject imports when possible.  That's why we had our awesome neighbor make us the billet aluminum jars for the first run of Patriot Wax.
 
I agree, the size of the mouth is not perfect for the Hex Grip applicators.  It's not, and neither the app, nor the tin were made for each other.  We have offered the hex grips for a good while, and then, offered this tin of Patriot Wax. 
 
One thing is for certain, we used more than a tub in the tin before we started selling it, and found that it works. 
 
Sorry Pat, and we can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time, but with input like yours, we will continue to seek a better solution.
 
Thanks for your input, and let's move on.
 
Cheers, 

Guys -
 
Keep it civil, and no need to dogpile on the guy. Let it die... If he chooses to return it that's his prerogative.

I've got $50 with your name on it for that Patriot! I could sit this right next to my other Patriot!

I too, am one of the folks that is (are?) glad that Dylan made his way 'home'. Having been one of BRZN's team members this past season, it was an absolute blast working with Adam at Carlisle and other events, but even with that interaction, there always seemed to be a piece missing. Welcome back, Dylan! Hopefully the East Coast team will see your smiling face a lot in 2015.

Congratulations Dave! I am glad that you're riding herd on this forum

Yep, purely a cosmetic difference.  Our supplier sent us a batch of the blues this time around.
 
It definitely makes my OCD flare up using blue towels with the green GC, but I get through it. 

I wanted to thank everyone who stopped by our booth during Windfest 2014. We all had a blast despite the weather. I got to meet some of the old-timers as well as some of the new folks coming into the Adam's family, and we're looking forward to more of these terrific weeks.

Well I should be making this even for a little while bringing the wife and kids. As of now we are going but with kids things can change.

Just got word my brother's buddy is dropping off his NASCAR Truck at our shop for the clinic!  He will be racing in Talladega next weekend and won't be able to attend, but we'll get to see his truck!

I can't wait to be there this year, about time!   Thanks for hosting again Eric!

You know I'm in.  The Thompson's put on a great event that is not to be missed.

Had a great time at Carlisle today. What a great place to spend the day. Stopped off at the Adams tent to pick up a few things. Was nice to see Nick and Dave again as well as meeting Sarah and Bob. Enjoy the rest of the weekend out there all. Hopefully the wind will die down and the Detail Spray bottle can go up.

Eric, I lightly mist my wheel faces, inner barrels, and brake calipers with the Green Wheel Cleaner and let it sit for a minute or so (don't let it dry on them). I'll then have a damp Wheel Woolie, or Turbo Stick (dampened by being placed in a bucket with water and Car Shampoo) to do the cleaning. Again, I'll mist the tool I'm using on the wheels with the Green Wheel Cleaner and start scrubbing. Use the Boulder Blonde Boars Hair Brush on the wheel faces and the Trim and Lug brush anywhere the other tools won't reach. I can wash three sets of wheels with one 16oz bottle. Once your wheels are clean and maintained properly, you might want to try as I do and mix the Green Wheel Cleaner with 25% water. Others mix a strong solution of Car Shampoo and water once their coated with QS.
As stated above protect the wheels with a coat of the QS, the Green Wheel Cleaner diluted with water won't be as harsh and won't remove the QS as quickly.
 
If you had a silicone based product on the tires the amount of APC you went through seems about right to take it off. SVRT FTW!