Paint Gauge

[mtl-biker]

Hi

I want to bought a paint gauge but i don't want to spend $1000. It's not for commercial use but i prefer to have one to be safe if i do others cars in my family.
Did you have suggestion for something good also at a good price
Thanks
Mario

[98CayenneTA]

This is what I use and like it a lot. I think around $100

[TTQ B4U]

You don't have to. There are plenty in the $90-$150 range that work great. They will limit you to metal surfaces but that's most of what you'll encounter.

[Eldorado2k]

Hi

I want to bought a paint gauge but i don't want to spend $1000. It's not for commercial use but i prefer to have one to be safe if i do others cars in my family.
Did you have suggestion for something good also at a good price
Thanks
Mario

I’ve got the perfect solution to fit your needs.
And best of all it won’t cost you $1,000
It won’t even cost you $100
What if I told you it’ll only cost about $10 bucks? That’s right, $10 dollars.

Buy this 1.
Here you see me using it to accurately measure .25mm




And how do I know it’s accurately measuring .25 mm? Because it comes with several test strips which allow you to calibrate it so you know for a fact it’s measuring accurately.



It’s Very easy to calibrate it, just read the easy instructions. And once you get it straight with the 1st couple the rest of the test strips fall in line to prove it truly is calibrated and showing you correct readings.

Best of all, once it’s calibrated it’s pretty much good to go meaning it doesn’t need to be calibrated everytime you use it. I’ve had this thing for a couple of years and only had to calibrate it the 1 initial time.

Here’s all the test strips that it comes with, along with the steel backing plate.



Now lets test it on some actual paint.

These are old pictures I took on my old car, so forgive me if I forgot what actual panel I tested, but the results are still good. I just don’t feel like going outside right now in the cold.

Here’s the roof of my old car measuring .16mm



The trunklid, measuring .27 mm



Now lets test it out on the Kia which is basically a nearly brand new vehicle which has never been polished. Dramatic difference in measurement. Virgin perfect factory paint and lots of it .70 mm



The meter gives you the option to also measure in mils which I actually prefer. Cool thing is once it’s calibrated in mm, it also means it’s calibrated for mils so just a push of a button and it gives you reading in mils

Here’s the roof 6 mils



Trunklid or hood 11 mils




Go back and test the Kia 27 mils



It beeps everytime it gets a reading. Then you can pull it off and check the screen. Once you place it on the next panel it reads again and gives you a beep when it’s done measuring.

Quick, fast, cheap, and accurate. Buy it on Ebay. Thank me now or thank me later, but you will thank me because this is the 1 that fits your needs. I use it before I polish every vehicle I do. It works.

[2black1s]

I don't get the need for a thickness gauge and Eldo2ks examples actually reaffirm to me that they are pretty much useless.

What do you do with the information like this; 6 mils on the roof, 11 mils on the hood and/or deck lid, 27 mils somewhere on the Kia?

Those values are so far apart what do they really tell you? The amount of paint thickness that you are going to remove by polishing is so insignificant in relation to those values that I just don't see the point of measuring at all. Are you not going to polish the 6 mil or 11 mil areas because they are so much less than the 27 mil measurement? Or the 6 mil area because it's so much less than the 11 mil measurement? Not in my world.

And then to compound the uncertainty, what portion of those measurements is actually the clear coat? That is all that really matters. Unless the thickness gauge is capable of measuring just the clear coat thickness, and at a much higher resolution than 1 mil, I just can't for the life of me see the point. With a gauge resolution of 1 mil you would have to polish that panel probably a dozen or more times before you'd even move the needle.

My intent here is to throw out my opinion as food for thought and certainly not to discredit anyone else's perspective on the matter. It's just my opinion.

[98CayenneTA]

The customer of the Ford Fairlane below wanted a correction done.....

It was original single stage paint with a thickness of 17 - 20 microns.

That means that someone that did not measure like I did, (I do it as a profession)
and just dove right in compounding and polishing, would have found where the primer starts lol and probably would have found steel in some areas (single stage is soft)

This vehicle got a hand glaze and wax only

[TTQ B4U]

I don't get the need for a thickness gauge and Eldo2ks examples actually reaffirm to me that they are pretty much useless.

What do you do with the information like this; 6 mils on the roof, 11 mils on the hood and/or deck lid, 27 mils somewhere on the Kia?

Those values are so far apart what do they really tell you? The amount of paint thickness that you are going to remove by polishing is so insignificant in relation to those values that I just don't see the point of measuring at all. Are you not going to polish the 6 mil or 11 mil areas because they are so much less than the 27 mil measurement? Or the 6 mil area because it's so much less than the 11 mil measurement? Not in my world.

And then to compound the uncertainty, what portion of those measurements is actually the clear coat? That is all that really matters. Unless the thickness gauge is capable of measuring just the clear coat thickness, and at a much higher resolution than 1 mil, I just can't for the life of me see the point. With a gauge resolution of 1 mil you would have to polish that panel probably a dozen or more times before you'd even move the needle.

My intent here is to throw out my opinion as food for thought and certainly not to discredit anyone else's perspective on the matter. It's just my opinion.

My use for the thickness gauge is to garner more information and as a tool with a customer. I grew up in a family that had dealerships and body shops so I know paint work but my eye and explanation for customers is further solidified with a thickness reader. Thus it's a tool to justify and provide a measurable bit of information to the client.

I also do want to know what level of material I'm working with, not just on a re-painted panel but every panel. Case in point, on a recent detail the customer stated he's never polished or had a buffer on the car but clearly by measuring it, there were areas I could see had scratches were leaned into a bit more than one would expect.

[98CayenneTA]

Here is me reading the Fairlane paint, dive in head first to this one and you're in trouble.

15 microns is INSANELY thin !

.0005" YIKES

A gauge tells you a lot about EVERY CAR, even brand new cars

[dgage]

There was a recent black Porsche that someone on Autogeek detailed. It was a brand new Porsche but had been buffed by someone who should be kept far away from cars. The black paint looked charcoal in some areas. Now that got the new owner a hefty discount I’m sure but that transferred some of the risk to the next detailer. The Autogeek detailer used a paint thickness gauge to understand what he had to work with and also to communicate to the customer that there was a danger of going through the clearcoat due to the previous person’s actions. So for that detailer, it allowed him to protect his butt.

EDIT: Here is the brand new Porsche paint correction I’m referred to.
2020 Porsche C4S Cabrio (992)

I want a paint thickness gauge because I’m looking for a used car for my kids and I want to verify what has happened to a car. I bought a car last year and with one car I looked at, the Carfax said no accidents but all of the orange peel on the front two fenders told a different story. A paint thickness gauge would validate if a car has had more damage or at least had repainted panels. And even new cars can have accidents on the way or at the dealer that don’t have to be reported and so a new car isn’t necessarily brand new. A paint thickness gauge would give more information in car buying, which is why I want one, as well as for detailing.

[UncleDavy]

I use a Highline 2nd Generation paint thickness gauge. It was only $150 on Amazon. I am not a professional so it suits my needs.