Needed in DFW area: anyone w/ paint thickness gauge

C

cjsls

New member
Does anyone in the DFW area have a paint thickness gauge?



I would be more than happy to pay someone for your time if you have one and can give me readouts on my car. I am the third owner and I do now know the history of the paint. I would like to get readouts so i can get a baseline and have an idea of which areas i should avoid on my car. There are some areas I would like to wetsand which is why I want this done.



Please tell me if you do, how long it would take, and how much you will charge.



Thanks
 
Honestly I'm not sure if a PTG is really going to make a difference.



It won't tell you how thick the clear coat is only how thick the total is, that being, primer, color and clear coat together. You could have a thin clear and thick color or vise versa??....



And btw, most resprays are much thicker then the factory paints.



You should be able to tell by closely inspecting each panel up close. You should see a difference in the ripple (orange peel) in the paint if it's been resprayed as well as any defects likes runs or pimples or sanding marks or very bad buffing and compounding marks just to name a few.



Josh
 
JoshVette said:
Honestly I'm not sure if a PTG is really going to make a difference.



It won't tell you how thick the clear coat is only how thick the total is, that being, primer, color and clear coat together. You could have a thin clear and thick color or vise versa??....
Click to expand...



I've heard some of the better ones (cost you a pretty penny) are able to tell you the thickness of each layer. I've watched Park Place Mercedes use one on a SL65 AMG Black Series... I'm sure they would take your money for some of their time. :dance
 
Vdubby18 said:
I've heard some of the better ones (cost you a pretty penny) are able to tell you the thickness of each layer. I've watched Park Place Mercedes use one on a SL65 AMG Black Series... I'm sure they would take your money for some of their time. :dance
Click to expand...



I've heard the same but I don't have that kind of money to spend on a gauge I may use once a year..... plus they only work on metal cars and some cars are being made out of fiberglass, plastic and carbon fiber these days.



Josh
 
I thought you could only do layers on composite, ect. with something like the advanced 200. If there is a PTG that does layers on metal, please let me know.
 
JoshVette said:
Honestly I'm not sure if a PTG is really going to make a difference.



It won't tell you how thick the clear coat is only how thick the total is, that being, primer, color and clear coat together. You could have a thin clear and thick color or vise versa??....



And btw, most resprays are much thicker then the factory paints.



You should be able to tell by closely inspecting each panel up close. You should see a difference in the ripple (orange peel) in the paint if it's been resprayed as well as any defects likes runs or pimples or sanding marks or very bad buffing and compounding marks just to name a few.



Josh
Click to expand...



Some good tips for spotting repaints but I think the OP is concerned about how much clear is left. On most cars you can get a good idea of the original thickness by taking a reading near (or under if you want to remove) a badge. Overall any car with less than 100 microns is going to warrant a lot of caution and further measurements.
 
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