Hobby Quick Tip: Daylight Bulbs for Miniature and Model Painting

You’ve probably realized that miniatures hobbyists are a fairly diverse group and while there are a lot of tried and true tricks of the trade there’s also a lot of varying opinions about how to get things done. One thing that the entire community is in agreement on though, is that you need good lighting and lots of it when you’re working on miniatures and models. Particularly so when painting.

One bit of advice that’s often repeated is that you should be using a daylight bulb in your lighting setup. This gets mentioned a lot but unfortunately no one usually bothers to explain what exactly a daylight bulb is and why you should use one. Today we’re going to do just that.

Just What the Heck is a Daylight Bulb Anyway?

The term “Daylight bulb” usually refers to the actual lamp in your desk light, in particular the color temperature or Kelvin (K) value. Without getting overly technical here we’re not talking about the wattage of the bulb but the actual color temperature of the light that the bulb gives off.

All bulbs have a K rating. Bulbs with a lower K rating will give off a more yellow colored light. As you go up the K rating scale the light becomes bluer and brighter. Your typical CFL light bulb around the house is probably in the 3000K to 4000K range. These typically have labels like Soft White, Warm White or Cool White. Candlelight is around 2000K or less, with the older incandescent bulbs coming in around the mid 2000’s.

At the other end of the spectrum we have bulbs that are considered Natural Light and these clock in around 5000K. Daylight bulbs are typically right around 6500K and simulate the suns light at mid day on a slightly overcast day. When people refer to Daylight bulbs this is the sweet spot (6500K) although you will see some bulbs marked as Daylight that are around 6000K.

Why Should I Care About Daylight Bulbs?

There are several advantages to using Daylight bulbs. They give you close to ideal natural light so that the colors you are seeing aren’t distorted by the typical yellowy light source found in most homes and office or desk lamps. Daylight bulbs are commonly used by artists and designers who need to see colors in as close to natural lighting conditions as possible. This will help you accurately reproduce the colors you want when you’re painting miniatures, model kits and scenery.

Daylight bulbs will appear brighter even though they may be the same wattage as a lower K rated bulb. This will help you pick out details and see things better when you’re working on the small details and things like mixing and blending or shading paints.

Lastly, working under Daylight bulbs is actually easier on your eyes. This will allow you to work longer and with less eye strain than with more yellow, lower K rated lighting.

Where Do I Get Daylight Bulbs?

The nice thing about Daylight bulbs in 2014 is that they’re readily available. Finding these used to be kind of a hassle but over the last few years finding Daylight bulbs in a variety of packages has become fairly easy. They are available in most sizes of fluorescent tubes as well as CFL bulbs. Most brick and mortar hardware and lighting retailers carry a selection of Daylight bulbs and they can of course be found at Amazon and online specialty lighting shops. You’ll also be pleased to find that Daylight bulbs aren’t typically any more expensive than lower K rated bulbs – and if they are more expensive it’s usually only about a 10 to 15 percent premium. You may even be able to find Daylight rated LED lighting although that is still pretty pricey and not widely available.

Here’s a search results page at Amazon for various types of daylight bulbs.

Have something to add or a helpful tip? Feel free to share it in the comment section below. Thanks for stopping by and see you next time!

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