review: polished Zebralight SC52 (a.k.a. "aluminum zebra")

It looks a little bit like a steel microphone

FWIW, after receiving this item, I learned that Zebralight can do special orders for non-anodized lights. CPF has a thread about it, or at least part of a thread anyway. Here is one of the pictures calflash posted about it:

I hope people don’t mind this thread being pic-heavy. Since this isn’t an item people can just go out and buy, I figured its main purpose was less about being informative and more about flashlight porn.

Great review mate. My take of it is that since the light was badly abused, it must have had anno wear and the chemical process ripping it off its anno was a story to get the light sold/exchanged. Just my opinion for what its worth (nothing)

Ok just watched the original thread by CK. This has to be among most dishonest pics I’ve ever seen.
Those 2 pics would imply an item in great condition. None of the things mentioned and pictured by Toykeeper can be seen.
Pics reproduced under…

2 pics are worth 2000 words!

I got some DC-Fix (sand) today and made a diffuser for this SC52. The 17mm lens from my brass light is almost the same size as the exposed part of the SC52’s lens, so I used it as a cutting guide. A tiny amount of non-diffused light leaks out a ~0.3mm gap on the side, but it’s only visible if I specifically look for it. Not a big enough deal for me to bother cutting a ~0.6mm bigger circle.

The beam pattern is a lovely flood, gradually dimming from the center to the barely-discernable edge. It looks really nice now.

Yo man. Where to get DC-fix? Can it be bought off ebay?

I got it from the “Home & Wall Decor” vendor on Amazon. It would have been slightly cheaper from another store I found while searching, but I didn’t really want to deal with making yet another account on yet another site.

It’d be nice if it came in quantities appropriate for torch use… but it seems that the only commercially-available quantity (45cm by 200cm) is designed more for windows instead of lenses. A guy on CPFMP sells smaller sheets cut to the size of an envelope, though, if you want a much smaller quantity.

Post a pic and beamshot? Want to see if its worth my trouble to get it? Thanks!

Hey TK,

Maybe check out ‘Flitz Metal Polish’ and give that little boy the shine it deserves. The stuff works AMAZING! It will also take out minor surface scratches, and light ano spots. Really wish I had this ZL, I would LOVE to fire up the buffer wheel, and give it a little TLC!

I made some quick shots to show the difference made by the diffuser (DC-Fix Sand, one layer). Left is the original SC52, right is the diffused one. I tried a few different exposures to show how it looks, because cameras are particularly bad at this.

The differences are: The spot is dimmer, wider, and blends smoothly into the spill so it doesn’t look like a spot. The spill is wider and has a much softer edge. There is also a secondary spill of sorts which is almost 180 degrees wide. All mach bands are gone (woot!), and the tint is much more consistent across the beam.



The beam can be diffused more by adding more layers, but each layer eats about 3% of the lumens (I forget who right now, but somebody reputable on CPF tested it).

Great beamshots man. Thanks for your time and effort. Seems totally worthwhile to get it :slight_smile:

That didn't look too good, and I wouldn't have been happy with it, the way you got it.

It must be abused, and the only way to sell it for a normal price is this way..

Oh, I forgot to do pics of the diffuser itself instead of just its beam.

Here is the gap I mentioned, since I made the circle slightly too small. It looks big here, but it’s only half a millimeter (or less).

How was the anodization stripped without getting the anodization in the fins? I been meaning to strip some anodized threads but don’t know how to get a clean line when transitioning from the threads to body tube. Already tried it once with a light by just tailstanding it with only the threads submerged. It works fine but aesthetically looks uneven.

Not a clue. That’s why I assumed it was sanded or otherwise rubbed off instead of using a chemical process. Normally, I’d expect to have to soak the thing in caustic soda then gently brush off the loose bits then soak then brush then soak then brush, then start polishing it after everything is cleaned and dried. But that wouldn’t leave the fin valleys and other concave spots intact like this.

I assumed he stuck something in the fins but looking closely at the pictures it does look like it was just sanded down.

edit: wow yea after an even closer inspection and read through of this thread…this does look like a beat up light that was sanded down just to make it look better. The lens is in horrible condition even though it was described differently. The edges are VERY rounded which would signify a sanding job vs chemical strip (and the missed ano spots). It would be hard to chemically strip an sc52 considering it is hard to take apart.

I would personally ended the deal and sent his light back but if you like it, that is all that matters. I personally run dcfix on my sc52w too so I guess the lens issue isn’t as important.

You know how they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Well, I like my SC52 with its Zebralight coloured anodizing. Once you take away the anodizing, it just doesn’t seem like a Zebralight anymore.

Yeah. It didnot occur to me. What the f? Chemically removing the anodising left the anno in the fins? Impossible. More like sanded down…

I’m okay with how the trade went; I got about what I expected. Given that I already have an original SC52, this was interesting to me mostly because it was something different and something to keep me busy for a while. I have enough lights that this hobby has gone far beyond anything practical and is now mostly a form of entertainment.

As far as the light goes, the main thing I’ve never liked about Zebralights is the military drab color. They have at least improved this lately with darker anodizing, but there’s still an extra something about bare metal. The rounded edges give this particular light a nice-feeling texture and an unusual retro look, and in natural light it shines like jewelry. Functionality seems unaffected, so it works well as a bedroom night light and as part of an EDC rotation. I’m usually pretty gentle with my lights so the soft surface isn’t really an issue, but it would be kind of nice to have a clip.

The H52w I traded was nice, but I was planning to sell it as soon as the H52Fw I ordered (months ago) shows up. I don’t enjoy the process of selling things, so I was kind of glad to bypass all that and get something interesting out of the deal. But I do enjoy the process of taking and sharing these detailed pictures, and talking to BLF about it. :slight_smile:

Now I just need to stop procrastinating and start doing some mods. There’s a C8 with a de-domed XP-G2 calling my name…