Radio Shack made my day!

jimmybuffit

jimmybuffit

That'll buff right out!
Scored a 60x mini microscope (illuminated) for $9.99. You wanna see your swirls? Not sure how deep the scratch is? This is pretty slick, and for ten bucks, it is a great sales tool. Let them see how bad it really is. I liked an older 30x model better, but it has been discontinued.



Also, I got an infrared thermometer for $30. I was prepared to spend $100. What a pleasant surprise.



Why do I need it? Don't let the surface temp of the finish rise beyond 115 degrees when using a rotary. Now I'll know. And, my clients will know that I know. Another great sales tool. Hopefully my clients appreciate the professional diagnostic ability.



Still thinkin about that electronic paint thickness guage... $500.00 Anybody got a better idea?



Thanks, Jim
 
TOL has a hand held pen paint thickness gauage for around $50.



60x I think is too much magnification actually. I know autoint sells a 30x magnifier.
 
Quote:I know autoint sells a 30x magnifier.



No, they were reselling the Radioshack model... can't get it now. The 60x is strong, and I would prefer the 30x, but with a little patience... it really shows off the 'damage'.



Jim
 
Yeah, the 60-100x Microscope is 63-1133.

The Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer is 22-325.



Good Luck. The counter guy found em for me quickly, below the counter. Not on display.



Jim
 
anyone know how those gauges work? They seem to be really accurate at measuring such a thin coat of paint... do they have something with some kind of field or something, or do they just jab a tiny needle in there or what?
 
Dr. Jones said:
anyone know how those gauges work? They seem to be really accurate at measuring such a thin coat of paint... do they have something with some kind of field or something, or do they just jab a tiny needle in there or what?
Click to expand...



those things work by measuring reflection,

you don't put a needle in.



you send a lightbeam

that beam goes though the clear, bounces back on the paint,

the device calculates the "distortion" of the beam and you have the thickness



I know this is a very basic explanation, but it gives you an idea



Christiaan
 
man i feel stupid... i should of figured that one out, it's like the one thing that didn't cross my mind. With having 3 weeks of optical theory in physics II and the many days we spent talking about how light works (snell's law and all that) in graphics, i should of figured that out.... i knew it had to be something simple.
 
Gentlemen;

If you want the exact same lighted 30X pocket microscope go to this web site at http://www.scientificsonline.com/EC/Products/Display.cfm?categoryid=192738

You will find it here for 10.95. The 60X new model at radio shack is overkill.



Second regarding electronic paint depth guages and how they work. It measures a magnetic field strength, There are no light beams!! How can a light beam reflect through a solid base color coat or a substrate primer coat. A high quality paint depth guage can be purchased through Automotive international at http://www.autoint.com. There are two models. One works only on steel and an upgraded unit that can be used on aluminum hoods and deck lids as on Lincolns.



Infrared temp guages can be found through any NAPA auto parts stores. The one we purchased even has a laser pointer to show exactly where your reading is coming from. Unnecessary but looks impressive. It sounds like you found a good price on the temp guage. We paid $89.50 digital readout w/laser sighting.
 
hmm... magnetic field? Wonder then if you could make your own paint depth gauge out of an electromagnet and some form of readout device... :confused: (nerd alert)
 
cvcaelen said:
those things work by measuring reflection,

you don't put a needle in.



you send a lightbeam

that beam goes though the clear, bounces back on the paint,

the device calculates the "distortion" of the beam and you have the thickness



I know this is a very basic explanation, but it gives you an idea



Christiaan
Click to expand...



The paint guages use magnets to measure the thickness. They also tell you the thickness of all the paint all the way down to metal and not just the clearcoat. That means you may have 5 mils of paint but that is divided up into clearcoat, base coat, primer.
 
Intel486 said:
The paint guages use magnets to measure the thickness. They also tell you the thickness of all the paint all the way down to metal and not just the clearcoat. That means you may have 5 mils of paint but that is divided up into clearcoat, base coat, primer.
Click to expand...



So how do you know how much of each is there? If there is a really thick primer and base coat could you accidentally go through the clear?
 
Sorry guys,

I confused a paint thickness meter with another meter wich uses light to measure thickness

My mistake:sosad



Christiaan
 
The only one using reflectivity is a gloss meter which can be used to show a customer how much more gloss there is before and after polishing. Real expensive and getting too fancy for standard needs. The tool measures how much more reflection is returned from the same amount of light being directed at the surface. If your making tons of cash and need to write off another business expense this may be a fun tool to impress with.
 
atldave said:
So how do you know how much of each is there? If there is a really thick primer and base coat could you accidentally go through the clear?
Click to expand...



That is just it, you don't know how much there is.



You can look at sheets get what the average thickness of OEM applied paint is.
 
Masterfinish: "If you want the exact same lighted 30X pocket microscope go to this web site at http://www.scientificsonline.com/EC...tegoryid=192738

You will find it here for 10.95. The 60X new model at radio shack is overkill."



You posted that on the 6th. I ordered on the 7th, and received 2 today, on the 8th! FedEx 3-day (?) shipping. Cool.



Thanks for the impetus, I had searched for them b/4, but procrastinated. Ketch showed me their value, both in diagnostics and sales. Now I'm good to go.



Jim
Click to expand...
 
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