How to Use 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant

In Part 3 we’ll go through how to use 3M Marine Grade Adhesive to create a water tight seal when installing Liquid Lumens Mavericks Underwater Boat Lights on a Supra SL550.

This is Part 3 of our series on How to Install Underwater Boat Lights, to see to Part 1 click here, or for Part 2 click here.

During the video, we teach you how to properly prep the surfaces that will be bonded together and give you some tips and tricks to working with Marine Adhesives, like the 3M 4200 we used in the video.

If you want to skip ahead to one of the key steps in the process, here are the timestamps for the step-by-step:

1:15 – Step 1: Clean both surfaces to be mated with Acetone or other appropriate cleaner.

1:52 – Step 2: Prepare marine grade adhesive for application.

2:31 – Step 3: Fill any holes that aren’t being re-used, and the 4 new screw holes, with marine adhesive.

2:51 – Step 4: Apply marine adhesive to the back of the boat light fixture.

3:09 – Step 5: Spread the marine adhesive evenly across the back of the light, leaving a small gap at the edge of the light (typically the area outside the outermost machined trough) so that the adhesive has room to spread towards the edge after it’s tightened onto the boat.

3:25 – Step 6: Finish filling any wire or screw holes that need marine adhesive.

3:58 – Step 7: Use two screws to align the light before the light makes contact with the boat (to avoid making a mess). With screw tips positioned into the drilled holes, slide the light into it position on the boat.

4:28 – Step 8: Tighten first two screws about half way into the holes.

4:39 – Step 9: Add any remaining screws and tighten half way into holes.

4:43 – Step 10: Using a low torque setting to avoid stripping the screws, finish tightening the screws down with a drill. Then finish tightening by hand, being sure not to over tighten or strip the screw heads.

5:14 – All Finished!

Now repeat the steps in this “How to Use 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant” tutorial for any additional light fixtures and go enjoy your new Liquid Lumens Underwater Boat Lights! Stay tuned for more of our how to videos. Additional Underwater Light Installation Instructions are also available here.

Please comment below and share your own install photos, videos and tips with us on social media. Let us know in the comment section how we did and what other content you’d like us to see from us in the future. Thanks for watching!

The post How to Install Underwater LED Boat Lights – Part 3: How to Use 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant appeared first on Liquid Lumens.

This is Part 2 of our series on How to Install Underwater Boat Lights, to continue to Part 3, click here. Or, if you need help picking a mounting location for the underwater lights, you can go back to Part 1, click here.

In Part 2 we walk you through how to drill through gel coat when wiring LED lights on a boat. During the video, we teach you about best practices for safely drilling through the gel coat on your boat as we prepare to install a set of Liquid Lumens Mavericks Underwater Boat Lights on a Supra SL550. If you want to skip ahead to one of the key steps in the process, here are the timestamps for the step-by-step:

0:41 – Step 1: Start drilling in reverse to begin the hole.

1:06 – Step 2: Finish drilling in forward.

2:08 – Step 3: Feed the wire(s) into the boat and test fit the light.

2:25 – Step 4: Visually align the light and check for issues.

3:00 – Step 5: Drill the first mounting hole.

3:42 – Step 6: If you used tape, remove it now.

3:47 – Step 7: Partially install a screw while maintaining back pressure.

4:13 – Step 8: While positioning the light, drill the second hole.

4:26 – Step 9: Partially install the second screw while maintaining back pressure on the drill.

4:30 – Step 10: Drill the remaining mounting holes.

4:54 – Step 11: Partially install the remaining screws.

4:57 – Step 12: Check final position of the light housing.

Congrats, you’re done drilling holes in your boat! Probably not nearly as scary as a lot of us thought it would be the first time we did it, right? Continue to How to Install Underwater LED Boat Lights Part 3: How to Use 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant to Install Boat Lighting for the next step in your install. Additional Underwater Light Installation Instructions are available here.

Comments and questions are always welcome. Let us know how your own installation went and if there is any other content you’d like to see us share in the future. Thanks for watching!

Transcription of Video

A couple of things to consider when drilling gelcoat.  It is very fragile and does not like drill bits.  If you drill in the forward position it will chip away at your gelcoat.  You may end up with a crack that could run out from the screw hole off the side of the light and have a damaged boat.  So, there are a few tricks that you can do to avoid letting your gelcoat crack.  

One is using some tape in the area that you’re going to drill.  We’ve put down some high temperature masking tape that we use for our powder coat process here.  You can also use blue painter’s tape or even just some basic masking tape.  

STEP 1:  Drill in Reverse to Start

We’re going to put the drill into the reverse drill position.   So instead of drilling forward, we’re going to drill backwards as we break through the outer color layer of the gelcoat.  By doing that, it will allow us to get through the outer color layer and avoid chipping.  Once we’re into the fiberglass, then we’ll put the drill into forward and finish the hole.  

STEP 2:  Finish Drilling in Forward

As you can see, we’re well into the fiberglass now, we’re through the gelcoat so we can put the drill into forward and drill right through.  Now we’ve got a nice pilot hole.  We still want to avoid letting this other hole that’s pre-existing let the drill bit wander.  Normally, we could move from here right up into the 3/8” size.  We’re going to step up a couple of drill sizes just so we can keep the hole centered where we want it and make it all the way through.

So, as we step up in drill size anytime, we need to repeat the process.  We’re going to drill in reverse at first and then we’ll switch it to forward, avoiding any cracks in the gelcoat.  Now we’re ready for our final drill size – 3/8”.    

We’ve got two nice holes, obviously this hole is plenty big to handle whatever we need.  The other wire should fit nicely here.  We’re going to test that now.  Before we drill any of the screw holes, we want to feed the two wires into the boat, position the light, make sure everything looks good.

STEP 3:  Feed Wire(s) into Boat

We’ve got our first Mavericks light here, we’ve unbundled the wire, we’re going to feed it into the boat.

STEP 4:  Visually Align the Light and Check for Issues

You can see with the position we’ve selected we like how the lights position on the boat and where it’s sitting.  We’re running into one problem.  This surf exhaust is getting in the way of our drill getting a nice clean 90 degree angle into the gelcoat, so rather than trying to drill on an angle or cause a problem, we’re going to run over to the hardware store and snag a 90 degree angle drill head so we can have the proper tools for this install that is a little bit unique.  

STEP 5:  Drill the First Mounting Hole

We’ve got our 90 degree angle drill head that we snagged at the hardware store and I’m using a friend here to help me position the light just the way we need it.  He’s got it visually lined up the way that it gives us about the same clearance on one side as the other.  We’ve put tape underneath this very first corner screw hole and we’re going to follow the same process as drilling the wire hole.  We’re going to put the drill bit in reverse.  We’re actually going to use  the light housing as the drill template now because it will align the screw straight into the gelcoat.  We’ll drill in reverse to start and then all the way through.  

Use one hand to give back resistance so as you break through the fiberglass you don’t run your drill into the light housing and put a scratch in your paint. This isn’t our final mounting.  We’re just going to secure that first hole in position for drilling the other hole so we can more easily secure the light.  

STEP 6:  If You Used Tape, Remove it Now

So move it out of the way for just a second.  We’ll get this masking tape off.  

STEP 7:  Partially Install a Screw While Maintaining Back Pressure

We don’t need to go all the way in.  We’re just going to get it set far enough into the gelcoat that it will secure the light for us to pivot and position the other holes.  

Gelcoat and fiberglass are incredibly strong.  We drill that hole just slightly undersized so that you have good purchase into the material with these mounting screw holes, so be sure to maintain good back pressure on the drill as you’re going in, otherwise you’ll end up stripping the heads on your screws.  

STEP 8:  While Positioning the Light, Drill the Second Hole

We’ve got one screw started into the gelcoat to help us with the pivot and now, again I’m going to start drilling in reverse and prep us a hole for the second screw.  

STEP 9:  Partially Install the Second Screw While Maintaining Back Pressure

Now I don’t need a friend.  I’ve got two screws set.  I’m just going to drill the last two holes.  

STEP 10:  Drill the Remaining Mounting Holes

We’ll set a couple of screws in them.  Make sure everything aligns then we’ll pull all four screws out, clean the housing, put our Marine Grade sealant on it then put it all back together.

STEP 11:  Partially Install the Remaining Screws

STEP 12:  Check Final Position of Light Housing

The housing is where we want it.  Everything is lined up nice.  We’re going to pop the screws out, clean it up, put the sealant on it and put it back together the final time.

Continue to Part 3

The post How to Install Underwater LED Boat Lights Part 2: How to Drill Through Gel Coat appeared first on Liquid Lumens.

This is Part 1 of our series on How to Install Underwater Boat Lights, to continue to Part 2, click here.

In Part 1 we cover how to pick the best mounting location for LED Underwater Lights on your boat during installation. During the video, we look at various Liquid Lumens products and where they would work best on this Supra SL550. After reviewing a few different products and mounting locations, we go into detail with selecting the best mounting location for a set of Liquid Lumens Mavericks Underwater Lights. If you want to skip ahead to one of the key steps in the process, here are the timestamps for the step-by-step:

1:31 – Step 1: Look for a location about 1/3 of the way in from each side of the boat if possible.

1:47 – Step 2: Select a flat surface.

1:51 – Step 3: Be sure lights will not interfere with the boat’s equipment.

2:10 – Step 4: Remove any necessary items or panels to gain access to the bilge.

2:27 – Step 5: Inspect the interior area of the boat before you drill.

2:55 – Step 6: Use a reference point to verify where the drill will break into the bilge.

3:50 – Step 7: Cut out drill template and tape to mounting location.

Now you are ready to begin drilling! Continue to How to Install Underwater LED Boat Lights Part 2: How to Drill Through Gel Coat When Wiring LED Lights on a Boat for more help with your installation, or visit our Installation Instructions page for detailed a step-by-step guide. Comments and questions are always welcome. Let us know how we did and what other content you’d like us to see from us in the future. Thanks for watching!

Transcription of Video

Hi, I’m Rob with Liquid Lumens and today we’re going to teach you how to pick the best mounting location for a set of underwater lights on your boat.  We’re going to evaluate a few of our different products.  The Surfrider model light here is representative of the same size and dimensions as our Skinny Dip light, just different components and a different lens.  And the Pipeline here is applicable to either the Pipeline Single color lights that we sell, as well as the RGBW configuration.  The footprint of these two products is actually the same.  They are both right around 4 1/2” in diameter.   As you can see the height and thickness of the housing is varied between the two products.  The thicker housing in the Pipeline, the RGBW allows us to project a little tighter beam angle lens and get you a brighter candela rating off of the light.

As you can see, we’ve removed the factory lights.  We’re going to have to drill some new holes for the bolt hole pattern on our product.  If you’re replacing some factory lights, you’re going to want to reuse as many holes as you can or cover up the old existing holes.  By checking our Surfrider model light or the Pipeline light, we’re able to see that we can cover the whole bolt pattern of the factory light on this boat.  There’s a paper drill template that would come with your set of lights.  We wouldn’t be able to reuse either screw hole in this case, but we can at least cover up the factory pattern so you would never know the factory lights were there.

Let’s walk through a couple of other options if we had a clean boat with no factory lights on it.  In some boats, in the past, we’ve seen customers try to mount their lights out here on the hips of the boat.  

STEP 1:  Look for Location One-third of the Way in from Each Side of the Boat

We prefer to mount about a third of the way in from each side if there is real estate available.  That leaves us this area here.  We have a little bit of a seam in the gelcoat here, so we would likely mount here or here.  

STEP 2:  Select a Flat Surface

We don’t want to go too low because as the surf tabs are actuating and coming up, we don’t want them to risk bumping into the light or blocking light and creating a shadow in the water.  

STEP 3:  Be Sure Lights Will Not Interfere with the Boat’s Equipment

If we can go a little bit higher, about here, we’d be able to clear this surf tab or here.  Other lights, like our Mavericks light, we’ve seen them mounted both here and also vertically here.  

Inside the back of the Supra SL, there’s a surf locker and you can see inside the locker there is a plastic panel to help drain water out of the interior of the boat.  

STEP 4:  Remove Any Access Panels to Gain Access to the Bilge

We’re going to remove that panel so we can see the inside of the transom area of the gelcoat where we need to drill holes.  

STEP 5:  Inspect the Interior of the Boat Before You Drill

Here’s a little bracket that had some wire and tubing zip tied onto the back of it.  We’ve already snipped the zip tie and we’re going to move it out of the way and zip tie it over here to these other hoses in the engine compartment while we’re drilling holes just to make sure we’re clear of anything and we won’t damage any of these items inside the boat.

If we look along the back wall, you can see that one tube and that one wire harness are the only two items back here that we’re concerned about.  It’s a pretty clean open space in the Supra.  One thing we always like to do in picking a mounting location is find an object in the back of the boat that you can reference  on the exterior.  In most cases, that’s going to be the exhaust port.  We can see the exhaust port down there with the clamps on it.  By measuring where we intend to mount the light on the exterior of the boat in reference to that flange on the exhaust port or one of the bolts we can then come and measure in the interior of the boat and verify that we see where that hole is going to come through so we don’t drill into something we don’t want to.  

STEP 6:  Use a Reference Point to Verify Where the Drill will Break into the Bilge

This is more or less the mounting location we have selected for the light.  By referencing the flange on the exhaust port we can see, we’ll call it an inch and a quarter between the bottom of the light and the screw.  We know that none of our drill holes are going to be lower than an inch and a half off of this bolt on the flange here, so if we measure an inch and a half up from that in the interior, verify there’s nothing there that we’re worried about, we should be good to start drilling holes.

STEP 7:  Cut Out Drill Template and Tape to Mounting Location

We’ve prepped the exterior of the boat, we’ve prepped the interior of the boat, we know we’re good to drill.  We’ve now cut out our drill template that was provided with the installation kit and we are going to pick our best mounting location here.  We clearly want to reuse this hole because it’s a big hole and it’s going to be right in the vicinity if we’re able to.  The wire hole locations on this drill template are here and here.  We’ve measured them and they are just about one and three-quarter inches apart.  We got lucky because on this Supra, as you can see, if we go to one and three-quarter inches we’ll actually be able to drill out this hole a little bigger for one of the wires on the Mavericks and the other wire is going to fit into the existing hole that was already on the boat.

A couple of things to keep in mind when you attach the drill template to the boat.  First of all, never use a level when checking the position of the drill template on your boat because the boat may not be level on the trailer and the trailer may not be on level ground.  This is more of a visual alignment or you can measure off of other reference points on the boat to make sure the lights are equally spaced and equally level to the position you want them in.  Now we have the template positioned where we intended to drill, but we’ve run into one issue, so we want to explain some things that you need to look out for.  It looked good where we could reuse the interior mounting hole from the factory light, and we have this large opening behind where this hole is going to go, so we were going to go with those two holes, however, we can see that there’s a little bit of a radius and a curvature on the back of the boat right here that we’re going to be butting up against.  What we want to avoid is, if the light is butting up against that radius, it’s going to lift it off the boat just a hair and prevent us from getting a good, water-tight seal on that upper edge of the light.  So, we’re going to offset it down just a hair.  We’ll end up moving this hole down just a little bit, but we’re going to be drilling a bigger hole here than what exists so we’ll end up consuming that hole anyway in the process and it should be just fine.

Continue to Part 2 – How to Drill Through Gel Coat

The post How to Install Underwater LED Boat Lights Part 1: Where to Mount LED Underwater Lights on Boats appeared first on Liquid Lumens.

We didn’t have any in stock, so we had to scramble to get everything together and shipped to Florida for install on a limited timeline, but we pulled it off. Seeing a 2X World Champion rider work her magic on this shoot was something we couldn’t miss, so we booked a last minute flight just before COVID restrictions came into play (talk about good timing)!

The set was on Blue Lake, a private lake near Tampa, and it was picture perfect. The lake water was so crystal clear and blue that it could have easily been mistaken for the Caribbean. Throughout the entire day, Cassidy worked and worked, tirelessly throwing down all of her best tricks to get the footage the videographer needed. As daylight progressed into the magical sunset hour, the focus shifted to the Mavericks and Top-Side Lights that helped illuminate the scene and allow Cassidy to continue riding past dusk.

[Note: We were working in a closed and controlled environment under the supervision and guidance of trained professionals and a spotting crew. Surfing after dark is illegal in most places and you should be aware of your own local laws and obey them for your safety and the safety of others.]

Cassidy was in wakesurfer’s heaven! She even mentioned to us that the light setup made it easy to see the wave and throw her most technical tricks.We had so much fun watching her smile and enjoying the night on the water. The production team put a lot of hard work into creating this amazing final product. We were so grateful to be invited to be a part of this incredible collaboration with Tommy’s Boats, Cassidy Gale, Jake Snider Films, and Malibu for this shoot. We hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed creating it!

The post Day & Night – Wakesurfing at night behind a Malibu M240 with Cassidy Gale appeared first on Liquid Lumens.

As we’ve all heard, LED’s are the light source of the future. As a nation, the United States continues to invest in lighting products for our homes, businesses, and recreational pursuits. And in answering the question “What are lumens?” we hold the key to understanding more about actual light output when assessing lighting potential.

Known for a variety of benefits, LED lights require lower energy consumption. They also possess greater durability for enhanced, long-term light quality. With these clear advantages over traditional light sources, property owners, consumers, and large companies alike are turning to LED lighting solutions.

They have a clear focus on achieving increased brightness, efficiency, and cost-effective lighting across applications. We know that in utilizing LED lights to create more functional, safer, and ambient spaces, we are also making significant contributions to global sustainability efforts.

But what’s behind the energy-efficient brightness of LEDs that is backed by the U.S. Department of Energy? The Department of Energy states that, in traditional applications, modern LED light bulbs use at least 75% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than their incandescent predecessors.

Here, we take a look at LED lights and lumens, watts vs. lumens, and different types of lighting solutions that power your world.

LED Lights and Lumens
According to energy.gov, it’s not your traditional wattage that you should consider when shopping for, or measuring, the effectiveness of the best lighting products. Instead, we should turn to its modern counterpart: the lumen (symbol: lm).

So, what is a lumen? The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America states that a lumen is a Standard International (SI) unit of luminous flux that is determined by radiant power.

This alternative lighting measurement became the most common way to measure light sources of all kinds. Lumens provide a decisive indication of a light’s true brightness, color, lifespan, and projected operating cost. This is because it reads the total quantity of visible light, known as the luminous flux, which the light source produces.

We experience the resulting perception of light when we are in the presence of any number of different light sources. Examples include a lamp on a desk, above water lights on a boat, or spotlights at a Broadway show.

A lumen measures the illuminating power of the light source. It also measures how much of its energy is converted into visible light. In gaining a better understanding of lumens, it’s important to know that lumens do not work alone in measuring the brightness of various light sources.

While the number of lumens represents how much light is actually emitted, the lux (symbol: lx) unit indicates how bright the affected surface will be. Meanwhile, the candela (symbol: cd) rating measures the visible intensity from the light source in any given direction.

In other words, candela output measures brightness in tactical applications where there is less demand for broad illumination. Instead, these applications favor a focused or concentrated distribution of light. So, what does this mean when you shop for light?

More Lumens = Brighter Output
In short, the higher the number of lumens a light source produces, the greater the potential of visible light that source can display, relative to how it is applied. The number of lumens actually defines the total illuminating power of a lighting product, similar to horsepower in an engine, so that you can understand just how bright, or dim, the light source potential is.

Just as horsepower defines the total power output of an engine, the number of lumens similarly defines the illuminating power of a lighting product. An engine’s horsepower translates to a particular vehicle’s performance relative to its weight, shape (aerodynamics), gearing, and other contributing factors such as design and purpose of the vehicle. A 500 horsepower sports car will perform very differently from a 500 horsepower dump truck, even though both vehicles produce the same amount of horsepower.

A light source has a similar relationship between lumens produced and how those lumens perform in a given application. Performance is relative to the way the lumens are applied to their environment. If you want to distribute an even amount of light in all directions, for the purpose of lighting a room in your home, an unfocused light bulb will work well.

Lux and Candela Ratings
On the other hand, if you need a focused stream of light — such as those that provide effective navigational aids on the water — consider not just lumens but also lux and candela ratings. This will help you better understand potential brightness and overall performance, for a specific application, before making the investment.

Our society started shifting light source designs toward lower wattage incandescent lights in recent decades as a means to conserve energy. So, light bulb producers wanted to assure consumers that light quality was not compromised with the reduction in watts.

Rather, LED lights produce stellar light output, color rendering, and cost-saving efficiency. Therefore, emphasizing lumen levels over wattage is the most effective way to clearly communicate this information to the consumer when discussing LED lighting products.

Watts vs. Lumens
Despite what appears to be a subtle shift from using watts to lumens in how we measure light power, watts never actually gave us any information on potential light output. Wattage has always measured consumption — or energy usage — of electricity. On the other hand, lumens measure very visible light that is a result of that consumption.

If we turn the lights on when we arrive home or walk into a well-lit classroom, we experience the visible light. This light is measured in lumens which a light source, or device, produces.

Referring to watts to determine the brightness of your lighting products was rendered unnecessary when we started focusing on the lumen levels of today’s LED lights. We wanted a more accurate understanding of the potential lighting power of various lighting products.

However, for some consumers, the transition is ongoing. Therefore, it’s helpful for them to get a better understanding of how lumen levels and wattage values relate to one another on a particular light product.

In a traditional application, a standard 100-watt light bulb will produce between 1,500 and 1,700 lumens. Another way to look at it is that a 60W bulb produces about 800 lumens. Meanwhile, you can expect about 1100 lumens with a 75W bulb, according to energy.gov.

Liquid Lumens’ blue Underwater Lights offer optimal brightness with a high candela rating
Lighting Power in Your Life
From residential lighting solutions to large-scale lighting installations in industrial buildings, these durable, high-quality light products are an important part of our lives. Now that we know how important it is to measure lighting power in lumens, it’s clear why LED lights are known for their versatility, efficiency, and power.

The U.S. Department of Energy has forecasted a savings of $250 billion in energy costs over the next 20 years if we continue to switch to LED lights. It’s also possible if we continue to think in terms of lumens when choosing the right lighting products to achieve a certain level of light output for our needs.

At Liquid Lumens, we are advancing marine LED lighting technology in the marine environment by designing the best underwater lights in the world. We developed our patent-pending, proprietary “Lumen-Boost” Technology to increase your boat’s standard 12V power supply. This helps achieve next-level performance in terms of lumen, lux and candela output.

Continue to Part 2 of this series: What is Candela?

Contact us today to learn more about lumens and how their radiant power is helping us reinvent recreation.

The post What are Lumens? appeared first on Liquid Lumens.

The post What is Candela? appeared first on Liquid Lumens.

At Liquid Lumens, we have developed the best LED underwater boat lights with our patent-pending “Lumen-Boost” Technology. In utilizing high-voltage LED installations that produce concentrated light beams, we deliver optimal marine lighting experiences. 

The post Ken Block’s Custom Supra SL550 Fully Loaded with Liquid Lumens’ Underwater Boat Lights appeared first on Liquid Lumens.