Paint Thickness Guage...

I

imported_Luster

New member
Paint Thickness Gauge...

I need to get one. (Sorry, mis-spelled "gauge" in the title! haha...)

Whatever information you have would be helpful.

1. How does it work?

2. Is it measuring clearcoat depth, or base/clear or base/clear/primer?

3. Will it work on non-metallic cars? (fiberglas? plastic?)

4. Cost?

5. Where to buy?

6. Best brands?

7. Which model is the most accurate?

8. What is a good "no worries" paint thickness???

9. What is considered "micro-thin", "better-be-careful"???

10. If the PTG is only measuring "total" thickness of all layers of paint, how do you know how thick the CLEARCOAT is?

Lots of questions!!! (Just trying to be thorough!!!):smile:
 
The models that are made for metal panels will only give you total thickness. I have a Defelsko Positest DFT Combo that is approx $700.

On composite/fiberglass panels, I have a Defelsko PosiTector 200 Series (Advanced) that can give individual layers. It has a list price of $2700.

The 200 series will not work on metal. I do not think there is a gauge that will give individual layers on metal panels.
 
I have an ETG-A. Yes, it can't measure aluminum or plastic, but I had a small budget.

1. Works really well
2. Measures entire paint thickness
3. No
4. $150
5. Ebay
6. ETG, Defelsko, Quanix, etc
7. I wouldn't know
8 and 9. The paint thickness will be different on almost every car. I've found that most are around 4 mils, but I have measured paints as thin as 3 mils and as much as 7 mils. If the paint is around 3 mils, I would be concerned.
10. I have heard two schools of thought about the thickness of the clearcoat. One very respected detailer said that it is usually half of the total thickness. Another one said that it is usually 1.5-2.0 mils.
 
PorscheGuy997 said:
I have an ETG-A. Yes, it can't measure aluminum or plastic, but I had a small budget.

1. Works really well
2. Measures entire paint thickness
3. No
4. $150
5. Ebay
6. ETG, Defelsko, Quanix, etc
7. I wouldn't know
8 and 9. The paint thickness will be different on almost every car. I've found that most are around 4 mils, but I have measured paints as thin as 3 mils and as much as 7 mils. If the paint is around 3 mils, I would be concerned.
10. I have heard two schools of thought about the thickness of the clearcoat. One very respected detailer said that it is usually half of the total thickness. Another one said that it is usually 1.5-2.0 mils.
Click to expand...

Answered every question! Perfect! I appreciate the responses. I'm going to do some more research on these before I buy.

I'll have to increase the budget a little.
 
Same/similar situation as PorscheGuy... I bought Highline Paint Meter II

1. How does it work?
Works well from my short experience with it.
2. Is it measuring clearcoat depth, or base/clear or base/clear/primer?
Measures entire thickness.
3. Will it work on non-metallic cars? (fiberglas? plastic?)
Nope.
4. Cost?
$225 (Was $200 w/ free shipping from Ebay 2 weeks ago)
5. Where to buy?
Bought mine on Ebay but same price from their site HERE
6. Best brands?
DeFelsko, ETG as far as I know.
7. Which model is the most accurate?
No clue.
8. What is a good "no worries" paint thickness???
You never know because you don't know how thick individual layers are. I would say anything above 4.5mils/115microns is fairly safe to polish aggressively, but again, not knowing the measurement of clearcoat leaves you clueless whether the reading is 8mils or 4mils...
9. What is considered "micro-thin", "better-be-careful"???
Anything under 4mils and I'll be fairly careful with polishing. Same applies as question 8 though, you never know.
10. If the PTG is only measuring "total" thickness of all layers of paint, how do you know how thick the CLEARCOAT is?
In short, you don't. I've heard the same thing as PorscheGuy (seems like I'm copying his answers haha) in that cc is about 1.5-2 mils thick and about .3-.5 is a safe thickness to remove
 
Luster said:
I need to get one. (Sorry, mis-spelled "gauge" in the title! haha...)

Whatever information you have would be helpful.
Click to expand...

1. How does it work? The PTG sends an ultrasonic pulse signal to the base metal which bounces back to the receiver. The recorded TTL (time to live) determines the total non-metal thickness (basecoat, clearcoat)

2. Is it measuring clearcoat depth, or base/clear or base/clear/primer? Everything non-metal

3. Will it work on non-metallic cars? (fiberglas? plastic?) No

4. Cost? $500 (Quanix)

5. Where to buy? (eBay, Amazon)

6. Best brands? I don't own one, but I have used a Quanix PTG at Meguiars open garage in Irvine - so this is the brand that Meguiars uses.

7. Which model is the most accurate? n/a

8. What is a good "no worries" paint thickness??? 6.5 mil and above. Repainted cars intentionally have thicker layers to allow for wetsanding.

9. What is considered "micro-thin", "better-be-careful"??? I would say 4 mils

10. If the PTG is only measuring "total" thickness of all layers of paint, how do you know how thick the CLEARCOAT is? It's usually between 1-2 mils, depending on the paint manufacturer.

EDIT: Found this great article that should answer most of your questions: DeFelsko Automotive Paint Inspection
 
My Highline II PTG just arrived today. Works on both Fe and NFe metals. Swithces from mil to micron as well.

For $225 I think it will do just fine. :thumbup:


Highline.jpg
 
Bill - I saw a really slick paint gauge here locally that a guy used on my Benz to help me see what I had. It had a wireless hand held sensor - the unit itself is held in the other hand - and it did ferrous and non-ferrous materials. I did not ask the price or where he got it.

If you want I can circle back with him and find out. He goes by Toto on some of the other detailing forums.
 
Thanks guys for all your responses.

Here's my problem.

90% of the cars I detail are Corvettes. Fiberglas, plastic, composite.

That's a high dollar gauge!!!
 
Slik560 said:
Bill - I saw a really slick paint gauge here locally that a guy used on my Benz to help me see what I had. It had a wireless hand held sensor - the unit itself is held in the other hand - and it did ferrous and non-ferrous materials. I did not ask the price or where he got it.

If you want I can circle back with him and find out. He goes by Toto on some of the other detailing forums.
Click to expand...

Totoland - He's a great (spe******t BMW) paint renovation detailer, if its the same guy. If he uses a PT it would be a good one

This is one of the PTG units I've recommended in a few PM on this forum and others


Not sure what the ****** is all about?
 
The ****** is because that combo of letter is blocked. It's the name of a popular drug to treat E.D. :D

took me a sec to figure that out.

I think the filter needs to be changed so that it doesn't block things that are in the middle of a word.

D!
 
RaskyR1 said:
My Highline II PTG just arrived today. Works on both Fe and NFe metals. Swithces from mil to micron as well.

For $225 I think it will do just fine. :thumbup:


Highline.jpg
Click to expand...

Yup that's exactly what I got... works great. One tip though, make sure you lay the probe straight down and measure because if you leave it at a slight angle it'll take a ridiculous measurement... so just remeasure a couple times if you get something like 500 microns haha
 
Here is a link to my post about a test I did using the worlds cheapest thickness gauge. The Harbor Freight one.

Link Removed

The thread runs to three pages and I added different comments many times.
 
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