Beam Shots - SMO Reflector versus Stippled Reflector - Just so you can see the difference.

You cant, because there is no mouse or hovering option in iOS.

a thousand words. Outstanding.

Thanks for a very direct comparison, OL. I’ll try my hand at stippling a reflector with some Krylon clearcoat.

GREAT mo’s Old-Lumens!!!

To my eyes on my screen, it seems the following the following three pics

when compared to the following 2:

are a great examples exemplifying the balance of throw vs. spill, as well as your exemplary work.

Thank you!

Nice work Old-L . I remember when people were buying smo reflectors for their C8’s. I do like the stippled reflectors

Very nice thanks for sharing these with us!

Nice shots, Justin :)

Thanks OL! For anyone on a Iphone you may need to refresh the page before mouseovers will work.

Hey, Old, thank you very much for these pics :smiley: Good job! :beer:
I think that the result is awesome :stuck_out_tongue: After stipple, you get an awesome floody and even beam :heart_eyes: Only one thing, pease, post a close up pic of that stippled reflector. Just want to see how much did you stipple it to get that type of beam. Thanks again :crown:

s1

Perfect! Thanks :wink:

I stipple them because of the uneven beam. On any build I have done (except for aspheric), the beam will look somewhat oval, or uneven, or have "artifacts" (blotches?), with any SMO reflector. Stippling solves that. I never really see rings with these XM-L leds. I only ever see rings with XR-E and the old incans. The Stipple leaves a smooth beam, but of course, it kills throw. When I make a thrower (I have done one or two, but rarely ever), I leave the reflector smooth.

I guess I could leave it to the new owner, but some people will not want to "fix their own reflector" and it's not worth the trouble if someone does not like the oval or out of shape beam, when they get it. I try to show the beam shots, so they know what they are getting. If someone wants a thrower, well there's a hundred chinese throwers out there for as low as $14 (A60) and I figure that's enough. I was going to make a Thrower out of one of these Maglite builds, but the problem I have is the room. These incan lights have no space for a deep reflector and if I use one, it means the heat sink will be very thin and I hate to do that. I have found the short reflector gives me more heat sink room and I guess that's why I do it.

I'm not all that fond of these reflectors, but there's darned little out there in the way of aluminum reflectors that will fit a Maglite. In fact, none of them really fit. They don't drop in and they need to be massaged to fit. I wish there was a good reflector for the Mag. KD used to carry some, but they were high priced, now they don't stock them. I found some for $20 each, but no way on that...

As fas as moving the emitter forward, it's down all the way now (photo below). There's no place to go. The reflector is touching the isolator as it is. I don't know how I would go deeper unless I used an 8mm star and made a bigger hole in the reflector that went down over the star. I did that once, but it didn't look any better, so I ended up backing it off and Stippling, LOL.

nf

Edit: If you have a good way and a photo, that would be great!

Thanks OL, nicely done.
I did some stippling myself with a old modded Mag with a Seoul P7 LED.
The method I used is very similar to your tutorial video.
The first coat I did is the only difference.
I bent the neck of the spray nozzle slightly back to produce a dribbling effect with bigger spray droplets.
It gave the reflector a heavier orange peel look.
I let that dry, then I gave it a 2nd coat similar to your application style.
I noticed when I was experimenting spraying, temperature has a effect on the outcome.
When it’s colder, the haze is cloudier, it’s clearer when it’s warmer.

OL, do you have a link to the reflector you used? I figure I'll order one of those to use with my light too. :D

Deep

Shallow

Thanks. :)

I wonder if the difference in people’s preferences in this regard is that some are using the light more to illuminate where they are walking (outside at night) and some are more concerned with spotting something (animals or whatever).

If the reason you’re out there in the first place is to spot something in the distance then more people may prefer a smooth reflector.

If you’re mainly out for a walk or working on something then more people may find the more even beam pattern of an OP reflector preferable.

Use has to be a big factor for some. Flood for walking, Throw for hunting/spotting. A mix for both, or a 3,000 lumen monster that just lights up everything in between.

I've got to think throwers have to be for outdoor people and people that are in, or get out to, the country a lot. City folk like me, just don't have a need for throw, except for a wow light if there is some place to shine it at.

Got to agree with that. I haven't found a "replacement reflector" from china yet that wasn't funky. Either it's got dirt and dust imbedded or it's got some coating on it that shows a rainbow effect in it. Profiles don't seem to match what they are supposed to be designed for. It's almost at the point where it's just as good to go buy some Mag Rebel LED reflectors and leave it at that, even though they are plastic. Hell, they aren't going to melt with an XM-L on a big heat sink anyhow.

Thanks for the seperate pics,
And thanks for the tips to double click to see the mouse-over.
When I first did it, it only zoomed out and in, on the pic.
Anyway thank you all!