laminating lights

Do any of you have any certain ways of setting up lights for laminating and hotcoating. I have ten foot ceilings with flourecent lighting shinning downward.I have noticed that if you shade the part of the area you are checking out with your hand, air bubbles seem to show up better. Any advice on this.

If cost is not a matter, I prefer metal halide, 10000k is the best choice. Remember to choose anti uv bulb and glass, otherwise it hurts your skin. REgards, Crabie > Do any of you have any certain ways of setting up lights for laminating > and hotcoating. I have ten foot ceilings with flourecent lighting shinning > downward.I have noticed that if you shade the part of the area you are > checking out with your hand, air bubbles seem to show up better. Any > advice on this.

I posed this question a while back and got some good info. Not sure about the height of your area. But the info contained will be a good place to start. Good luck http://www.swaylocks.com/discussion/archive/index.cgi?read=16030

Thanks for the info . Have you tried setting them up the way Herb explained? It’s so irritating to hot coat and see air bubbles and wonder how they got there. Can too much light be possible?

I am in the process of getting everything together (materials and $$$) to build it. Herb is a very good source for info and I am definately going to setup as he suggested. If nothing else it will be a good starting point. In my humble opion, you can have too much light. It seems to be a fine balance. I had a booth at my last place with poor lighting. I got a little carried away trying to light it up. With a white blank, clear resin, and silane cloth (it kicks clear) it was very difficult to see the air bubbles and the nuances of the lap lines with too much light. All I could see was white. I had to kick back the lighting a bit. Every space will be different, especially yours with a high ceiling. You will find a range of light you will be comfortable with. One thing I would suggest to you: put sand on the floor of your glassing area. I have tried cardboard, carpet, containers for the resin to drip into, etc. For me the easiest thing is sand (like a playground sand, not too course). When your resin run off kicks you can pick it right up off the floor and dispose of it. This is way easier to deal with compared to a mound of hardned resin that forms on the floor after a few months. The easier it is to take care of quickly the more likely you are to do it (at least for me). When I had carpet and cardboard down, I kept putting it off. When I had to move I had about a 10" thick slab to deal with. I had to do relief cut with a circular saw, then break it up with a sledge hammer and haul it away. What a pain in the ass. Good Luck.

I believe that is my problem. I went overkill on the lights. Definitly going to mess around with side lighting. I’m currently using roofing felt on the ground to catch the resin waste. You are right about putting it off. I’ve got five inches of resin build up. Not looking forward to cleaning it up. Anyways, thanks for the info Mike.