At what point do you need a paint thickness gauge?

R

Rez90

New member
So i've been doing more and more polishing lately and it's become quite a hobby for me as i enjoy it a lot.



I don't do this for a living. Just for fun. But i've noticed most of the cars i do are not mine...makes sense right?



My question is at what point do i need a paint thickness gauge to avoid damaging someone's clearcoat? I did a 1988 Corvette the other day and was very nervous on how thick or thin the clear was....



What do you guys think? also...where does one buy one?



Thanks.
 
Rez90 said:
So i've been doing more and more polishing lately and it's become quite a hobby for me as i enjoy it a lot.



I don't do this for a living. Just for fun. But i've noticed most of the cars i do are not mine...makes sense right?



My question is at what point do i need a paint thickness gauge to avoid damaging someone's clearcoat? I did a 1988 Corvette the other day and was very nervous on how thick or thin the clear was....



What do you guys think? also...where does one buy one?



Thanks.
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You just have to use your best judgment. I detailed cars for over 16 years without one and never had any issues. I have one now since it's my *** if I mess up on a car and I do a lot of serious correction jobs.





I'd say if you are only doing 1-2 step jobs you should be fine. It's when you start busting out 3M extra cut, wool cutting pad, and a rotary that you would need to worry.



Always look for signs of previous (hack) work like burnt edges and compound splatter or repainted panels....especially on older cars.





FYI, For $200 the High-line II gauge is the way to go as it's paid for after doing one car. ;)





Rasky
 
Has anyone ever measured just how much paint you take off with say, a PC, and orange pad, and m105? I've been curious as to how many times you could do this sort of correction to a car (it's what I use on almost all the vehicles I detail) before you do some serious damage.
 
Mindflux said:
That's 25 more than rasky said ;) I know the Highline 1 is $200, but he said Highline II for 200. :sadpace:
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$200, $220....eh, pretty much the same thing! :D
 
jono20 said:
Has anyone ever measured just how much paint you take off with say, a PC, and orange pad, and m105? I've been curious as to how many times you could do this sort of correction to a car (it's what I use on almost all the vehicles I detail) before you do some serious damage.
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Joe from Superior Shine did a great article on how much paint is being remove a while back. Dave KG has done one too though I'd have to search for it. The paint itself will play a big role in how much clear is taken off.



How much paint are you removing. - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online







Rasky
 
RaskyR1 said:
Joe from Superior Shine did a great article on how much paint is being remove a while back. Dave KG has done one too though I'd have to search for it. The paint itself will play a big role in how much clear is taken off.



How much paint are you removing. - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online







Rasky
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Great thread, thanks. Interesting to see how much more a wool pad cuts compared to a foam cutting pad using the same compound. From that article I feel safe knowing that medium compounds on fine-cut foam pads take off practically no paint at all :)
 
jono20 said:
Great thread, thanks. Interesting to see how much more a wool pad cuts compared to a foam cutting pad using the same compound. From that article I feel safe knowing that medium compounds on fine-cut foam pads take off practically no paint at all :)
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No Prob. ;)





On a softer paint like Honda you would likely see more material removed using the same processes. It does at least show that a once or twice a year light polish is pretty dang safe. :bigups
 
RaskyR1 said:
No Prob. ;)





On a softer paint like Honda you would likely see more material removed using the same processes. It does at least show that a once or twice a year light polish is pretty dang safe. :bigups
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At the same time though, if you have a honda and do a M105/Orange pad polish every spring, after 5 years you might be getting in to the danger zone!
 
jono20 said:
At the same time though, if you have a honda and do a M105/Orange pad polish every spring, after 5 years you might be getting in to the danger zone!
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You shouldn't need to hit your car with M105 on a yearly basis if you care for it properly. :nervous:
 
Yeah, if you need to do serious correction on a remotely regular basis, then something is very wrong :think: Some (not all by any means...) of today's cars have *very* thin paint, and if you hit it with M105 more than a few times you'd better not park it in the sun very often.



My experience with ETGs was that I got by for decades without one, and then had it save my [tail] at least three times right after I did buy it! I absolutely woulda caused problems on my pal's Jag in spots where the repaint was incredibly thin...no clues, no way to tell without the ETG. And some readings I've taken since then have me thinking I'd better not do much more correction on some of my vehicles (vehicles that've never been aggressively compounded either).



At what point do you need and ETG? IMO, if you're doing much correction you need it as soon as you can afford it. You don't need an ETG until one tells you something you wouldn't have known otherwise, something important.



Where's Barry?!? He and I oughta be :argue this topic! Note that even *he* used one on a recent detail.
 
You need one if you don't know the history of the car's paint. And even if you bought a brand new car, sometimes then you can't be sure it didn't get a respray. Its a very valuable tool, especially if you are using an aggressive polish.
 
jono20 said:
Has anyone ever measured just how much paint you take off with say, a PC, and orange pad, and m105? I've been curious as to how many times you could do this sort of correction to a car (it's what I use on almost all the vehicles I detail) before you do some serious damage.
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Joe (Superior Shine) did just that. Took off .3 mil wetsanding and polishing out the sanding marks showed no more reduction in paint thickness and that was using a rotary....and obviously, I'm not the only one who remembered that write-up!



I would say if you do any regular wetsanding you should have a paint thickness gauge.
 
The thing to remember, some paint thickness gauges won't work on Corvettes, as they measure with a magnet, and Corvettes are not magnetic.





JOhn
 
JohnKleven said:
The thing to remember, some paint thickness gauges won't work on Corvettes, as they measure with a magnet, and Corvettes are not magnetic.
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Yeah, even trickier/more expensive to deal with fiberglass than with aluminum. Glad I'm just dealing with Audis as opposed to 'vettes :D



And of course there's always the issue of plastic bumpercovers/etc....
 
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