UV light -vs- Black light?

[Ralph]

I prefer to use the uv lamp for curing. It saves me time. When I was working on cars at the rental agency I would be doing multiple repairs at one time. I also considered buying at least one more curing light if not two. Time is money...I went to Pep Boys and bought an ultra violet light that is used to find leaks in radiators and air condition units on cars. The black light is 50w uv hand held and is powered by 12v. It clips to the battery posts. I tried this light to cure a couple of my repairs but for some unknown reason it did not work. If it worked I would have treaked a few options on the unit to make it more repair friendly but it's not necessary now. Does anybody know why this light wouldn't work? I thought for sure I came up with a good solution for $35. Plus it was 50 watts strong...

[Nelson]

Hey I agree. Is there a difference between UV and Black Light? No one has answered. Does anyone know if there is a difference. It seems that Ralph used a black light and it did not cure the resin. So does this mean that black light will not work?


Nelson

[glassdoctor]

Ralph, most of those mechanic uv lights are just a normal flashlight with a uv lens. They aren't really uv lights at all. There are probably some that are real, but most I have seen are just purple flashlights.

I have always understood blacklights and uv lights to be the same thing. U.V. is just a more technical description than "black" light.

WalMart sells a plain incandescent light bulb with a purple coating that is called a blacklight... for a kids room etc. It's not a uv light. I don't think it should be called a blacklight either... it's a fake. But then so are those mechanics lights used for seeing dye leaks.

BTW, if you want a basic 6" uv lamp... the 4 watt battery powered ones, you can find them for under $10 if you search a little. I saw one for $6 in one of those useless gadget type mail order catalogs. Dr. Lenords or something like that. Also, you can find them in a good fishing store for about ten bucks.

[Nelson]

You can get the 12 inch battery powered lights at Walmart for $7.00. It is just a standard fluorescent light but you can get uv blubs for them. I guess that the black light is a uv light? Is a black bulb or a white uv blub better? The white puts out more light so if you are working in a low light area maybe this would be better for you?
I took apart my curing light and the bulb is a "F4T5 BLACK LIGHT". I called the light shop here and the bulb is $6.95. They said there is a difference between UV and a black light. So why does my curing light say black light?

[Dave M]

Nelson,
Had to do some digging, but I found one of my old 6" UV bulbs. Mine reads "F4T5BL".
I always thought it meant "blue light".

[Ralph]

Glass Doctor,
Thanks for letting me know whats up with that light. It makes sense because the light gets very hot after a couple of minutes. (they suggest using it for 5 minutes and letting it cool for ten minutes before using it again) I guess the extra wattage is trying to push the light through the purple lens...And they call that a black light! A true uv light doesn't need to get that hot to work.
One thing that has been bugging me...When I use the uv light sometimes it's hard to see if the lamp is on, so I stick my eyes up to the lens and turn the light off and on to see if there is a difference.(I have the blue uv bulb, maybe the white uv bulb is easier to see if it's on?) On a sunny day it is hard to tell. Anyway, the lamp has uv rays and uv rays are bad for us. So could this damage my eyes over time? I wish there was a little light that would go on by the switch when the light was turned on.(some kind of indicator to let us know the light has power) This would make it easier when we are curing a repair because sometimes the power source that plugs into the lighter pulls out and the repair is'nt getting cured.
Thanks for the input about getting uv lights at a reasonable price! I'm starting to see the light...Hahaha....lol....hahaha....sorry. bad joke!

[mafsu]

I bought some 6" black lights (battery operated)(FT45b) off the internet a couple of years ago. I basically just wanted the fixtures and intended to replace them with (FT45bl) u.v. tubes . When I got them in I experimented with the black lights before I changed them. They would cure my resin, it just took 5 times as long to do it. So I switched out the tubes, put suction cups on the fixtures and they fell apart the first time I used them. If anyone is going the route of putting together their own lights G.E. makes a 6" under cabinet light that works perfect.

[Don Boccafola]

Most W/S repair resins kick or start curing at wave length of 366 nm. I think thats nano meters. This is called short wave length. If you are using a long wave length bulb your resin won't cure. Even though UV light is invisible to the human eye it is very damaging to it. You should never put your light up to your eye to see if it's on. When dentist first started bonding teeth they used UV curing resins also. They found that using UV light around the face without eye protection was damaging to the eyes and was not a very good idea so the went to a composite resin that cured using white light. I thing it's something like 600-700 nm. In the past I used the 4 watt American Ultraviolets lamp. I tried the 9 watt double tube light a few years ago. In my oppinion the 9 watt light is definetly the way to go. I wouldn't consider anything else. They cost about $90 -$100, they last for more than a year if you take care of it and you can buy bulbs for under $20 for when they do start to loose intensity. Put a new bulb in them and they are as good as new.

[mafsu]

Using a shop rag over your u.v. light to block out the sun makes it easier to tell if the light is on.

[sydfloyd44]

You got it Don!!

The "blacklights" you are talking about are a useless wavelength for what is needed to cure the resin. Yes, they will EVENTUALLY cure the repair but so will a fluorescent light in the right amount of time.
The LONG WAVE UV lights used for curing w/s/r resins can be harmful!!! Although I have to admit I don't use them, we keep a pair of clear, UV safety glasses with our repair kit.
If you would get into one of the "bad boy" spot curing lamps like those available from CRL, you had better be wearing safety glasses when you turn it on or you are destroying your long term eyesight!! (note: this is a $450.00 curing light and I would NOT recommend it!)
In my opinion, if you want the best light for curing, check out Delta Kits website at this link. The part # is the 40-14 & 40-15 (12V & 115V).
These lights cure fast and correct!!!!!! Worth every penny. I have used COUNTLESS types of lights (including the one I spoke of above) and these stand out as some of the best!
http://www.deltakits.com/dki/ultraviolet-lights.html