FLAW HIGHLIGHTING LIGHT PANEL AND BOOTH FOR AUTOMOBILE BODY REPAIR

A light panel for highlighting flaws and imperfections in the surface of an automobile body or the like includes a pair of lenses with one lens positioned on each side of a light source. The lens on one side of the panel is yellow with a painted black stripe thereon with the black stripe irregularly "bleeding" into the yellow to create diverse shadow lines. The lens on the opposite side of the panel is white with a similar black stripes. Each black stripe includes a narrow centerline of white or black, respectively which serves as a reference. A fluorescent lamp is positioned between the lenses to project a shadow line light pattern onto the surface to be inspected for dents or imperfections. The white and black shadow line pattern is more effective at highlighting flaws in darker colored surfaces while the yellow and black shadow line pattern is more effective at highlighting flaws in lighter colored surfaces. A flaw highlighting booth for an automobile assembly plant or the like is made up of a plurality of such light panels positioned to form two arrays, with one array positioned on each side of automobile bodies on the assembly line to be examined. Each array has light panels oriented at varying angles such that a shadow line pattern is projected onto all areas of the automobile bodies to highlight any dents or imperfections therein. The floor of the booth can be painted with alternating white and black stripes as well.