Shop Lighting and Paint Recommendations

[TomInNC]

My workshop is one bay of a 3-car garage that measures 22x20 feet with 12-foot ceilings. The current lighting is very poor and consists of 3 fluorescent fixtures that really only cover about a third of the floor. I've been getting by using a portable LED lamp on a pole, but I would like add real shop lighting in the near future.

The existing lights are hardwired, and I would like to replace them with hardwired LED fixtures that are linkable to other LEDs to simplify the install. For some reason the only linkable shop lights the BORGs have are plug in (not hard wired). I'm reluctant to order a bunch of lights on amazon without seeing the light color in person. Does anyone have linkable hardwired LED lights that you're happy with?

Once I'm done putting holes in the ceiling, I will also need to repaint the garage. I know I want a light color. Beyond that, is there anything specific I should be looking for in a paint that will go in a dusty garage?

 

[Mark J]

My lights are plug in type (fluorescent) with ceiling outlets. Easy to reposition, replace or remove temporarily.  And I can easily add more.

If you are working with the wiring try to have the lights on a separate circuit, so if you do pop a breaker with a power tool you are not also plunged into darkness.

 

[TomInNC]

On 8/1/2022 at 9:11 AM, Mark J said:

My lights are plug in type (fluorescent) with ceiling outlets. Easy to reposition, replace or remove temporarily.  And I can easily add more.

If you are working with the wiring try to have the lights on a separate circuit, so if you do pop a breaker with a power tool you are not also plunged into darkness.

 

I should have mentioned this before. The lights only share the circuit with the garage door opener, so I should be good on the power side of things. I am hoping to go the direct wire route so that I can continue using the existinf light switch.

[Mark J]

My outlet lights are on a switch.  Is there some code issue where you live?

[TomInNC]

On 8/1/2022 at 9:16 AM, Mark J said:

My outlet lights are on a switch.  Is there some code issue where you live?

No code issue. It's just that the existing install has one hardwired light per stall that connects to the switch. I'd like to replace the one light with 3-4 LEDs using the existing wiring. I just finished installing some linkable under cabinet LED lights, which was very easy, and I was hoping to use the same approach for the shop lights.

[legenddc]

I have some cheap LED ones that were on sale at BJ's a couple of years ago. Color seems fine in the shop, nice and bright. My biggest issue is one died and the replacement is a slight different color temperature. I noticed it at first but not anymore. At $20 for a 4' light with outlets to connect to each other I can't complain too much.

[gee-dub]

On 8/1/2022 at 6:11 AM, Mark J said:

My lights are plug in type (fluorescent) with ceiling outlets. Easy to reposition, replace or remove temporarily.  And I can easily add more.

If you are working with the wiring try to have the lights on a separate circuit, so if you do pop a breaker with a power tool you are not also plunged into darkness.

 

I do as Mark describes.  Lighting technology is still changing pretty quick.  It wasn't all that long ago that LED shop lights had to be within a few feet of what you were lighting and were as harsh as all get out.  Today, much better and still improving.  Being able to easily upgrade was high on my list of features for the install.  These are all LED "shop lights".  The elements are in plastic tube diffusers but are throwaways, not changeable.

I have 3 areas that are switched independently which is more involved than what you are after.  I do leave pull strings on the fixtures as well because I often have half or more of the lamps off.  Every other light is more than adequate for most tasks.

The phone camera reacts oddly when you try to take pictures of lights.  Here's a pic of the general working area with every other light on.

If I am doing detail work in one place or another I can switch extra light on in that area.  This is common when doing detailed router table work for example.

[Tom King]

LED lights are still changing.  There is no reason to have any with tubes in them any more.  I just put up some in our Puppy Room that replaced some old fluorescent tube lights.  They have strips in them, are Very bright, and have selectable color temperature.  I just bought those from Lowes, and are probably too expensive to put in a shop, but we're Very pleased with them.  We needed to cover the places where the old fixtures had been on the wood ceiling.

edited to add:   I bought them about a year ago, and already they are no longer listed online.  The old ones went out, and I just went to the store and made a selection.

[BonPacific]

I'm using these in my shop right now, and I absolutely love them thus far. They blow my old (Costco bought) Feit shop lights out of the water. I've bought three separate packages at different times and they're indistinguishable, which isn't always the case with cheap lighting. They come with all the various connectors you might want (hardwire pigtails, short rigid link connectors, 3ft link connectors, and switched plugs) and snap into screw-on clips so it's pretty easy to change the setup later if you don't like something. I've got them in 4 chains of 8-10 units, with no noticeable dimming at the ends. My shop is also a 12ft ceiling and I don't find the clear covers a problem, but if you're sensitive to bright lights you may want to consider a frosted cover instead.

I'm a fan of high-temperature color light in general. I use 4000K bulbs in the house, and 5000k in the shop and craft rooms.

As for paint, I was happy with just the color of white Kilz primer in my previous shop, but I'm going with natural wood in the new one. I think it's really all just down to personal taste (you can make up for slightly darker walls with more fixtures). Gloss is easier to clean, but matte is easier to patch if for some reason you care about that.

[Tom King]

You surely can't beat that price.  They look like they have the same type LED strips in them that the fixture I was talking about has.

[BonPacific]

On 8/1/2022 at 9:08 AM, Tom King said:

You surely can't beat that price.  They look like they have the same type LED strips in them that the fixture I was talking about has.

I imagine pretty much everything in that price bracket is coming out of the same factories in china or taiwan. The difference between cheap and expensive largely comes down to QC/QA.

[Tom King]

I ordered some to put in the mechanic shop.  Many thanks for the link.  I'll put them up over the part that I can get to without moving stuff.  

edited to add:  I ordered these too.  I'll probably put them closer together on the bottom of rafters.  Building has a weird inside Gambrel framed roof .  It's pretty dark in there now with just a few halogen flood light bulbs in ceramic sockets.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/buy/thankyou/handlers/display.html?purchaseId=106-6572612-9111412&ref_=chk_typ_browserRefresh&isRefresh=1

[TomInNC]

Thanks. Those are exactly the type of lights I was looking for.

[legenddc]

Those lights still working out for everyone? I just lost a second light and I won't be replacing them at $20/each and such a limited lifespan.

Really only need 4 lights but $119 for a 10 pack seems like a lot better deal than $89 for a 6 pack.

[Tom King]

No advice from me.  Mine are still in the box.  Been too busy with other stuff.

[BonPacific]

Still working great for me. I accidentally knocked two of them out of their brackets by dropping a ladder on them, and they don't show any problems after being put back up.

[JohnG]

Mine are all still working well.

[legenddc]

Thanks. Guess I'll place an order and will move the still-working lights into the laundry room or pass them over to my dad.

[TomInNC]

Just before pulling the trigger on the lights, an electrician recommended that I check out shoplights from PrimeLights (https://www.primelights.com/). I emailed them a basic outline of my shop layout and what I wanted to accomplish, and they sent me back a detailed plan of exactly what lights would work best and where they should be located. I ended up getting 6 of the 4 foot long bolt fixtures for my 3-car garage. I've only had them up for a few months, but they have made a huge difference so far.   

[legenddc]

Got my order of lights in earlier this week and finally got them up. I ended up replacing the 4 Feit shop lights with 6 of Barrina lights. Initially I only put up 4 but the light didn't seem to spread out as well as the old ones. At $12/each it's hard to complain.

I need to find a new home for the crown molding wrapped up in green on the top left of the pic so I can move the air filter over and straighten out that light but there's still plenty of light and no shadows on the table saw right now.

[BillyJack]

I have the same problem in my shop. I try and get by cheap with cheap shop lights, but their always failing. The one over my tablesaw has quit completely. Not a problem during the summer months and the door opened on nice days, but winter is another animal..

[legenddc]

My consolation prize is the first light failed before I bought more for my storage room and laundry room. I moved two of the old ones into those rooms and will have a spare light in case one of them goes.

[drzaius]

One day I'll switch the shop lights to LED, but the 96CRI fluorescents I put in 20 years ago are still going strong. I'll be sticking to a solid name brand when I do.

[BillyJack]

I think budget lights have killed a lot of shops. Many of us are guilty of buying cheap shop lights. Better to buy one $60+ brand name light fixture.,I think the electicial told me the light fixtures at the furniture company were $100 each..

[JohnG]

On 10/28/2022 at 12:35 PM, drzaius said:

One day I'll switch the shop lights to LED, but the 96CRI fluorescents I put in 20 years ago are still going strong. I'll be sticking to a solid name brand when I do.

Your lamps haven’t burned out in 20 years??