Paint Thickness Gauge.

[Mike Phillips]

A Paint Thickness Gage is also a "Big Picture" Indicator to help you make the "Go" or "No Go" decision as to whether to do any wetsanding, or cutting with a compound or even polishing.

If the readings show the paint to be thin, regardless of what they are, then the big picture is "No Go".

If the readings show the paint to be thick, well at least you can continue evaluating and if possible do some research before making the "Go" or "No Go" decision.


Big Picture Indicator to make the "Go" or "No Go" decision.

The last thing you want to do is pay for a paint job for the other guy...

[SeaJay's]

+1 on the Highline Meter II. I purchased mine about a month ago and it does come in handy!

[BobbyG]

In the case of a meter like the Highline II, what you're measuring is the thickness of the entire film build -- meaning all primers, fillers/glazes, sealers, base coats, and clear coats that are sitting on top of the (ferrous metal) substrate.

It can be difficult to determine what a "good" reading is and judge how thick just the clear is, but you can sometimes guess at it by measuring the paint in the door jambs since often times these areas get less clear, if any at all applied to them from the factory.

There are however some more expensive gauges (we're talking in the $1500+ range) which can read and report how thick each layer of the film build is individually. Others (in the $2000+ range) can also read on plastic, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and other such substrates as well, though these often also require the use of a couplant (similar to the way doctors use a gel when doing an ultrasound) between the surface and the probe.

Basically what you're looking to do is to find areas you should avoid heavy sanding and/or buffing on, as well as determine how much material you're removing with whatever process you've decided to use. The goal of course being to get defects out while removing as little of the top coat as possible.

Charlie,

Great post with allot of informative clear information.

The ability to spot thin areas is certainly important however for the most part we deal with just the top coat or clear coat. Having a meter than can discern between layers is crucial but the cost for one of these meters can be cost prohibitive for all but the professional shops.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Super informative post charlie. I had no idea that there were high end readers that could read each individual film. Now that would be nice to have. But thanks for the informative post. I know have an idea and will share this post witha few people i know that say paint readers are a waste of money. Thanks for the great input Charlie.

Thanks, glad to help

[COLOR=blue]Charlie's post was well written. I measure after wash and clay. It is both a comparative tool to see how panels measure in relation to each other as well as the total thickness itself.

Thanks!

If you get a car with low readings (under 100 microns), you know you need to re-evaluate how aggressive you will be correcting the paint.

Sad thing is, these days even some brand new cars have paint that thin. When I bought my 2008 GMC Sierra brand new on the lot (never buffed by the dealer) I was getting readings in the mid-90 micron range and that was fairly consistent with a few other trucks I checked on the lot at the same time.

Charlie,

Great post with allot of informative clear information.

The ability to spot thin areas is certainly important however for the most part we deal with just the top coat or clear coat. Having a meter than can discern between layers is crucial but the cost for one of these meters can be cost prohibitive for all but the professional shops.

Thanks! And I totally agree about the cost prohibitive nature of the high end meters. I'm actually in the process of trying to find a shop that has one to read fiberglass right now because I have a project coming up in a couple weeks that I'll need to see readings on before I get too aggressive:





Here's why I'm concerned (looks like it could be dry spray):



Despite working on different cars all the time, I get projects like this so infrequently that I just can't justify the cost of buying my own meter for these specific circumstances.

[mtd]

I work for a company in the UK which supply thickness gauges, I realise you probably would not want to buy from us because of the shipping cost. However we do a Sauter thickness gauge on our website that might interest you Sauter Digital Coating Thickness Gauge as it is ideal for use in the automotive industry and is relatively inexpensive. I am sure if you search around you find the same product available in the USA.

[DARK HORSE]

I had one and sold it. IMO it is not precise enough for our needs. I got this one and have recommended it to several people who have been very pleased with it:

Paint Meter, Paint Gauge, Paint Gage - HighLineMeter.com


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Charlie's post was well written. I measure after wash and clay. It is both a comparative tool to see how panels measure in relation to each other as well as the total thickness itself. If you get a car with low readings (under 100 microns), you know you need to re-evaluate how aggressive you will be correcting the paint. You may have to sacrifice some level of correction you would have liked to attain in order to keep a safe amount of clear on the car. Unless it's being done to be sold, you want to protect the paint against thinning out the clear too much.
Another thing is it's invaluable to show panels that have been repainted. It is an awesome tool to go used car shopping with. Good litmus test for the honesty of the salespeople you're dealing with in regards to the history of the car.

Hey Eric,

I agree with Richy 100%. I also have the Highline ll series meter (thanks for the recommendation Richy) and wouldn't be with out it. I also measure after wash and clay and find it to be an invaluable tool as well. As others have said; it gives you a overall look at the big picture. I like the fact that if I see low readings (less than 100uM's) I know to really evalute my correction process thoroughly.

[blac2k8cs]

Thanks for the info everyone. Looks like I will be getting a Highline Paint Gauge.

[slickooz]

Think I'm going pull the trigger on the PTG. Looks like a very valuable tool to have when detailing a car.

[rwright]

Think I'm going pull the trigger on the PTG. Looks like a very valuable tool to have when detailing a car.

DO IT!!!! I'm glad I bought one. A couple months ago I did a 3 step on a 2008 Mitsubishi Evo VIII that had very low readings. On the mil setting the majority of the car read in the 3 range which is roughly 76.2 micron, a couple spots read 2.5-2.7 mil or 68.58-73.66 micron. I still wet sanded a few areas without issue . Talk about a life saver though! Oh, the door jambs read 1.7-1.9 mil or 43.18-48.26 micron .

[Time 2 shine]

So are you guys measuring the door jams scene they have less clear as a reference and then the panels your going to work on to get a good idea of how much clear is on the vehicle to play with.