Dent Light – The special light used by a technician to magnify the dent and read the reflections in order to make a repair.
Paintless dent repair lights have come a long way over the decades. From crude flourescent shop light fixtures with PVC pipe mounted to them, to state-of-the-art LED lights with carbon fiber frames. Shop for PDR Tools.
Lighting and/or reflection is one of the vital components of paintless dent repair. There are two types of lighting being currently used, fluorescent and LED. Lighting has progressed quite a bit since the days of heavy fluorescent fixtures with fragile bulbs. With the introduction of LED lighting things have definitely changed. LEDs allow us to have smaller, lighter, and very durable lights.
Advise for PDR Technicians:
So how do you, transition to LED paintless dent repair lights?
First, what are you currently using? It is easier to adjust to something close to what you are used to working with. If you are used to a bare fluorescent bulb, LED should be an easy adjustment. Though not as intense or bright as a fluorescent. Today’s LED lights are made to be very close to the reflection of a bulb. If you use a fog line you can use a multi strip LED, which will have a simulated fog in the space between the strips. Or you can get a fog line on your lens for a darker contrast. If you are a striped board user, you just need to add stripes to your lens. Or purchase a striped lens or film.
Next, what color LED? For traditionalists the choice is warm white or cool white. Warm white is a softer more amber color. Great for light-colored vehicles. Cool white is brighter white slightly bluish. Great for when you need a brighter light. LEDs have also made it easier to have multicolored lights. With every color in the rainbow. Some paintless dent repair lights are offered with single colored strips. Others have multicolored strips that can be changed to all the colors in a single strip.
Then it is the choice of mini light or stand light. I like to have both. A stand light for hail and large dents. Mini light for door dings, rails and cross checking.
As with all things PDR it all boils down to personal preference. What one person likes another won’t. Do a little research and if possible physically try the light. Maybe from a friend. Or by going to a trade show for PDR. Paintless Dent Repair Lights – By Carl Stuckey Latest posts by Carl Stuckey (see all)
To purchase a dent light, click on Carl’s name to go directly to his website or check out Carl Stuckey’s Lights, Dentcraft, Elim-A-Dent, Inventure, ProPDR Solutions, or UltraDent Tools. They all carry fantastic paintless dent repair lights.
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Read about the next term: Dent Repair – The act of reshaping or filling the metal to bring the dented area to pre-damaged condition.
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