UV from mirror

[Shepard]

OK, a scientific question for ya'll... if I used a big mirror to reflect the sun into an otherwise dark garage ... and I aimed my beam of sunlight onto my repair... would the UV transfer to cure the resin?

Does it have to do with distance from mirror to resin... a mirror 1 foot might do the job while a mirror 20 feet away would not?

I think it might be handier to cure some stuff by bending the sunlight rather than plugging in a UV light... mostly just when the sun is low & bright, but the car is parked in the opposite direction...

[Layne]

Yes....Like a laser beam, it can be directed without losing any significant amount of strength. Rather than move a vehicle, I just bounce the uv by using a mirror and focus the beam on the repair area.

[wilz]

Don't you guys think that it might be too much of a work than just to move the vehicle around?

[GlassStarz]

Or use the proper uv light? talk about making things harder than they have to be! if you cant spend $ for a good one buy the $9.95 battery one they use in the tuner cars 4 aa batteries runs it and it projects a decent uv band the thing even comes with suction cups.
Mirrors yup I have officialy heard it all now

[AGSS]

If you are using the mirror inside the w/s than I think the u/v should not be a problem. The tinted laminated w/s should block the u/v rays from comming in and reflecting back on the break.

AS Screenman would say; test the problem. Put a drop of resin on a windshield, cover the resin over with some tape. then try your mirror from the inside and see if the resin cures.

[Layne]

He did not ask the most reliable and cost effective way....I just answered his question.

[GlassStarz]

Aggs he is trying to use the mirror to get sun to his repair for curing in a dark garage instead of useing a light again ive heard em all now

[SGT]

Wow! Now I know why my repairs are taking so long. I have been using that damn curing lamp thinga ma do!

Just kidding, no question is a stupid one. Good luck with this method at night!

[harrellbenjamin]

yea, dont tell him the smart way to fix it(curing light) teach him the Homer Simpson method LOL......... Bend light off of trash can lid then refect of off bottom of empty bud can and then use a piece of broken mirror found outside in the alley to do a quality repair in the back of a dark dirt floor garage.......LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shepard]

[quote=
I think it might be handier to cure some stuff by bending the sunlight rather than plugging in a UV light... mostly just when the sun is low & bright, but the car is parked in the opposite direction...[/QUOTE]

Thanks for all the replies, especially the thoughtful and intelligent ones ... wow, I think I gave the impression I was throwing my real UV lamps and my mobile power source away with the intention of standing as far away as possible and bouncing light off my super-duper wristwatch face! I think when I used the extreme as an example I did not make it clear that the extreme is often used to demonstrate the validity of something on a smaller scale.

Yeah, I wonder if a series of mirrors were set up that bounced sun-light 200 times ... how much UV would be lost… because… my real issue of bending light from 6 inches would be answered with great certainty.

So, let’s say the sun is out & bright. In a direct line 3 or 4 minutes would do the cure, but now the sun is behind the vehicle, I could:
1. Start the vehicle, turn it around and then when the job is completed turn it back around for the client.
2. I could walk around the car and plug in a UV lamp, walk back to the windshield, realize that this is one of those cars that needs the ignition turned on, go to my car, get the mobile power source (5lbs) return to the clients vehicle, plug it in, and then cure.
3. I could pick up a 6 ounce mirror from my toolbox and from 6-inches away bend the suns UV onto my repair....

…yep, the last one sounds pretty dumb... why do things the easiest and most effective way, huh? I should have probably found out if an effective amount of UV would still be delivered by mirror before asking my stupid question, huh?

…for those of you that remember … perhaps I could just cure all my repairs with light reflected off a white shirt? (This sentence was meant to be humorous…)