Money2536

Yeah man! As long as no one buys a SBM in the Orlando area, it's all good!

Sloopy

Funny; I too had a signed 5 year agreement. Also an advisor.

Money2536

I've been talking to our resident lighting expert, AC SATCO, about different color temperatures, fixtures, and types of lighting. He made some suggestions and sent me some different bulbs to play with. As you might imagine, I'm all about learning new stuff.

I had recently changed from 3200K/4000K to 5000K Phillips bulbs and noticed a massive difference. AC SATCO suggested I test out some 6500K as they are closest to natural sunlight as you can get.

The first set of bulbs to try are SATCO Hygrade. These are 6500K and are the brightest of the bunch.















I had a hard time trying to capture the lights in my photos and grew too impatient with all of the bugs flying around to set-up the tripod to get a decent shot. It's a little hard to tell, but the SATCO Hygrade bulbs were noticeably brighter than the Phillips and certainly bluer. The three on the right are the 6500K.









He also sent me some Verilux 6500K bulbs that aren't as high output, but are the some of the most accurate bulbs available. These bulbs are not as bright, and were much softer to my eyes.
















The last set of bulbs he sent me were LEDs that are designed to work with a normal ballast. These are much pricier but worth a try. These are 5000K.







The LEDs confirmed it for me that I prefer the 6500K bulbs, so the LEDs are out. I brought the wife out to take a peak at the difference between the brighter SATCO and softer, more accurate Verilux. We both concluded that the Verilux was the ticket.

You can see the difference here: on the right is the 5000K Phillips bulbs and the left are the Verilux. Notice the difference in the reflection on the back wall and cabinets.













I couldn't let the LEDs go to waste, so I put them in the laundry room. Notice whose in charge of the laundry. If it were me, there wouldn't be a pile laying around.

















All Verilux






















I'm going to add four more 6-bulbs fixtures to fill in the shadowed areas as much as I can. I think I may put them on their own switch. It may end up brighter than the sun in there with all of them on. AC SATCO suggested I not waste my money on fancy fixtures, so I'll just pick up some more of the Lithonia cheapos from Home Depot.

Thanks again to AC SATCO for all of the help and products.

Just in time

Money did you adjust the camera's WB?

Money2536

No, I have it on Auto White Balance. I WB alone in Lightroom. I only adjust exposure, highlights, and shadows. The photos are a fairly accurate representation of what I'm seeing in real life.

ipse dixit

Money

If there's any garage in the SE U.S. that deserves to house an RS, it's yours.

Money2536

I bought this to appease me. Plus, I've already ensured that one kid is going to a state school with my ridiculous purchases thus far. The other still has a chance...

Shrevehorn

Money. As you know, I'm beginning my garage redo, somewhat copying your project. I now have my SwissTrax in the boxes, and have planned out my cabinets.

I, too, have extremely poor lighting in my garage. Now I realize that SATCO is where I can buy bulbs, etc. guess I was semi asleep when reading some of your stuff. Got to get more on the ball.

Money2536

I recently purged all of the towels I don't use. Next up is to find the ultimate microfiber combo. My current mix of towels has been used and abused. Some of them have started to get a little linty, so it's time to search for replacements.

Another detailing crazy turned me onto to Microfiber Madness towels.

http://www.carpro-us.com/microfiber-madness/

This was my first purchase to test them out. I bought one of pretty much every towel they make to see which ones I liked. Then I can build from there.
















I also decided that I'm going to stick to a regime of using specific towels for specific purposes and washing like towels with only like towels. For example, the Yellow Fellow 2.0 will be exclusively used for removing polish. Also, I will only wash Yellow Fellow 2.0s together (other than the first wash when new).

My first observation on this towel is that it is much thinner than I'm used to using to remove polish. I think I'm going to like the thinness. I also like the edgeless design.



I will probably washing drying/detailing towels together. I intend to choose four or five of these after testing them and buying a bunch of each of them.

I'm not sure I'm going to choose these over the waffle drying towels. I'm two days after washing and the Dry Me Crazy towels still aren't dry. I'm going to use them but am guessing they won't make the cut. They are amazingly think and heavy but may end up being too much work for me in the long run. I don't want to have to throw them in the dryer. I feel like the dryer gives me a greater chance of introducing lint and clogging up the microfiber with cotton.





These will probably become the detailing work horse. I'll probably end up buying a ton of them.



I also got a 24" X 16" to see if I like the sizing.



This just appears to be a higher quality version of all of the other interior cleaning towels I've owned. The are thinner, which I think I like.



I'm guessing this will become my go-to drying towel. The Jr. will be for drying the lower areas. My Adam's towels would be demoted to cleaning up the jams.



I'm really excited about these. It seems like every single window cleaning towel I've ever bought ends up dropping lint all over my windows. I hope these are as good as I'm guessing they are going to be.



This towel is super thick. I'm not sure about this one. I have to use it. It is designed for use with detail spray.



I bought this just for fun to test out. I just wish it was bigger.



This is what $200 bucks worth of high-end microfiber towels looks like. Don't tell my wife...



I used about 1.5 ounces in a medium load on delicate cycle with an extra rinse in cold water. You get the MicroRestore from CarPro. I also use Dreft for my towels if I don't have any of the fancy stuff.





On a side note, I had a $4,500 super fancy set of washer and dryer. They were the awesome looking front loading He ones from Samsung. They were great with only one problem: THEY DON'T ACTUALLY GET MY FUNKY CLOTHES CLEAN! Let me extend my sincerest apologies to Mother Earth, but we "downgraded" back to the stone ages. I even modified the water fill regulator to allow us to fill to the top. If you're a Crossfitter in the summer, an He washer doesn't cut it.

I had never heard of Speed Queen. After a ton of research looking into buying a commercial extractor, I ended up with these. $1,300 for the pair, and my clothes don't smell like cat pee any longer. I just wish they didn't look like crap. Clean clothes wins over cool looking laundry room

rockitman

Ru going to install it yourself ? If so, one of your great photo diy's would be cool.

Ducati1199

Man you must be certified - $200 worth of cloths just to try them out?!?!? I just laughed reading that last post. I didn't even know they made cleaning fluids for the washing machine.
Does you wife know how much you spend on cleaning goods??

At least you had to sign the 5 year car deal - mine made me do the same thing!!

Money2536

Yeah, you have to pay to play. I think she has an idea, but she chooses to look the other way.

Dang it I want a GT3RS! I keep thinking I'll call the dealer just to explore. Then I remind myself there is no way that's happening.

bronson7

Matt, you're the smart one. All the time spent in your garage busy with all your chores, there's no time left to **** the wifey off.

Shrevehorn

Wait, what happened to the 5 year no new car pledge?

I've got a Macan S coming next month for the wife, but really would love to have a GT3 RS. I'm #2 on my dealers list, but she doesn't know how many she will get. Issue --- spending 1/4 mil on Porsches in say, a year -- not a smart financial decision. Can I afford it? Yes. Is it good financial planning? Not really.

MACH 86

He who dies with the most toys wins!!