Paint thickness gauges $10-$15

[Mgavin1985]

These gauges are on eBay for $10-$15 can someone that knows enough about them comment am I wasting $10 see below I never used one. The accuracy of .03mm is comparable to a ceramic coating right? Or am I way off and the accuracy would be an issue if purchased

• Measuring Range: 0~1.80mm / 0~0.71mil
• Accuracy: (+/-)0.03mm
• Resolution: 0.01mm/1mm
• Min. Dia. of Substrate: 50mm
• Min. Thickness of Substrate: 0.5mm
• Power Supply: 2 * 1.5V AAA Batteries (NOT Included)
• Operating Temperature: 0-40°C
• Operating Humidity: 10-95% RH
• Size: 62 * 31 * 105mm
• Color: Orange

 

[Paul A.]

I'll defer to those with more expert experience but something about $10-$15 for a PTG would scare me.

 

[FUNX650]

These gauges are on eBay for $10-$15
can someone that knows enough about
them comment am I wasting $10

The accuracy of .03mm...

Or am I way off and the accuracy
would be an issue if purchased

• Measuring Range: 0~1.80mm / 0~0.71mil

IMO:
When buffing/correcting automotive paint...
having a PTG, that can accurately measure
in both mil and micron increments, is a must.

From here, it doesn’t appear the $10-15 one(s)
you listed have that capability; accuracy could
suffer...so could the paint. {Of course there are
conversion tables that can be sourced, in the
heat-of-the-moment...}


But, hey: what’s a measly $10-15 amongst friends?!?!



Bob

 

[Calendyr]

At that price it's very likelly a magnet based gauge. You put it on the paint and pull. Depending how thick the paint is the gauge will reveal more or less of the stick. It's a good way to check if there was any body work done on the car and to have a general idea of paint thickness. For paint correction or sanding, I would not trust it to be precise enough.

 

[Mgavin1985]

It would be neat to see how it works compared to a high quality on.

 

[Eldorado2k]

At that price it's very likelly a magnet based gauge. You put it on the paint and pull. Depending how thick the paint is the gauge will reveal more or less of the stick. I would not trust it to be precise enough.

That’s not how this one works. You’re referring to those pen shaped paint gauges that reveal more or less of the stick and on some of them the stick is color coded to make them easier to read.

I have this paint depth gauge. I think it’s adequate for the most part but I dunno if I’d... Well actually maybe I shouldn’t say anything negative about it just yet, because it does seem to work. Check it out.

It comes with a metal plate and several films that are used to calibrate it. Once it’s calibrated it’s able to measure each film and does it repeatedly spot on without fail.

IME once it’s calibrated it stays calibrated meaning you don’t have to do it everytime you use it. It stays accurate.

Now lets go measure my paint.

On my 02’ Cadillac DTS, which prior to me owning it had seen quite a bit of neglect throughout the years I get a reading of 0.16mm [what is this? Microns?] on the trunklid.

I can’t even get a reading on the roof...

Keep in mind that the roof was by far the most neglected part on the car, remember how it looked completely prepped for compound/polish. Beyond neglect, this paint was straight up abused.

This is how it looks today. I didn’t need anything to tell me this paint here is super thin and delicate, I knew it all along, that’s why I didn’t attempt to go any harder than it would allow me to and I’m fine with where it’s at because any more would’ve lead to failure.

Onto the hood... It gives me a reading of
.27 mm

Now check out the hood on the 2014 Kia Sorento, which I’ve made it my goal to put off machine polishing until it shows visual signs of needing to be polished.. I get a reading of .70mm

Now lets switch it to mils.

Cadillac trunk: It goes from nothing to 6 mils on certain areas of the trunklid, but for the most part I get nothing.

Cadillac hood: 11 mils

Kia hood: 27 mils

Is it perfectly accurate? I dunno, but it definitely shows a difference.

 

[Calendyr]

27 mils? Is that even possible? That is 648 microns. I have never seen paint that thick. Unless of course the panel was repaired and you have bondo there, then it would make sense.

Getting no reading at all is strange. Usually when that happens is because the panel is non-metalic. Like if you have a fiberglass or carbon-fiber there, but on a roof that is very unlikelly. The other thing might be that there is so much bondo there that the gauge can't get a reading at all... has the roof been repaired? And can you get any reading anywhere else on the roof?

Strange that the gauge is showing mm as a mesurement, mils and microns are usually the units used. I don't like Mils because I think it's not precise enough, but I guess any mesurement can do, you just have to get used to it. If the gauge is precise then it doesn't really matter.

 

[Eldorado2k]

27 mils? Is that even possible? That is 648 microns. I have never seen paint that thick. Unless of course the panel was repaired and you have bondo there, then it would make sense.

Getting no reading at all is strange. Usually when that happens is because the panel is non-metalic. Like if you have a fiberglass or carbon-fiber there, but on a roof that is very unlikelly. The other thing might be that there is so much bondo there that the gauge can't get a reading at all... has the roof been repaired? And can you get any reading anywhere else on the roof?

Strange that the gauge is showing mm as a mesurement, mils and microns are usually the units used. I don't like Mils because I think it's not precise enough, but I guess any mesurement can do, you just have to get used to it. If the gauge is precise then it doesn't really matter.

I know that’s pretty crazy huh? I don’t really know what to make of it but at least it’s consistent with its readings. Lol.

Even stranger is that it won’t give me any reading at all on my brothers brand new Ford truck no matter where I test it. That’s the only vehicle it draws a complete blank on.

 

[mwoolfso]

I have a big problem with the industry and hundreds-of-dollars for a thickness gauge..... it's a huge ripoff to the lamen. Was there a time when tape measures were hundred of dollars? It's simply stupid and its times like this where I say I am glad other companies are commoditizing stuff like this. Genericizing some products makes perfect sense for the consumer.

 

[Mgavin1985]

That’s not how this one works. You’re referring to those pen shaped paint gauges that reveal more or less of the stick and on some of them the stick is color coded to make them easier to read.

I have this paint depth gauge. I think it’s adequate for the most part but I dunno if I’d... Well actually maybe I shouldn’t say anything negative about it just yet, because it does seem to work. Check it out.

It comes with a metal plate and several films that are used to calibrate it. Once it’s calibrated it’s able to measure each film and does it repeatedly spot on without fail.

IME once it’s calibrated it stays calibrated meaning you don’t have to do it everytime you use it. It stays accurate.

Now lets go measure my paint.

On my 02’ Cadillac DTS, which prior to me owning it had seen quite a bit of neglect throughout the years I get a reading of 0.16mm [what is this? Microns?] on the trunklid.

I can’t even get a reading on the roof...

Keep in mind that the roof was by far the most neglected part on the car, remember how it looked completely prepped for compound/polish. Beyond neglect, this paint was straight up abused.

This is how it looks today. I didn’t need anything to tell me this paint here is super thin and delicate, I knew it all along, that’s why I didn’t attempt to go any harder than it would allow me to and I’m fine with where it’s at because any more would’ve lead to failure.

Onto the hood... It gives me a reading of
.27 mm

Now check out the hood on the 2014 Kia Sorento, which I’ve made it my goal to put off machine polishing until it shows visual signs of needing to be polished.. I get a reading of .70mm

Now lets switch it to mils.

Cadillac trunk: It goes from nothing to 6 mils on certain areas of the trunklid, but for the most part I get nothing.

Cadillac hood: 11 mils

Kia hood: 27 mils

Is it perfectly accurate? I dunno, but it definitely shows a difference.

Too funny that is the exact one I order yellow and everything.

 

[Trevine]

IMO who cares about paint thickness. Once you go deeper than the clear, it a whole different ball game and a costly mistake. Now if they could come out with a device that measures clear coat thickness, I am IN!. Too many times someone brings a car and we have NO idea age of paint, type of paint, original or not, has it already been correct, etc etc. What I really want to know is how aggressive I can be on the clear. Beyond that, and you are really in trouble and the customer will look at you for the causing the problem and fixing it.

 

[DBAILEY]

They do have PTG that will display the thickness of each layer based on the differing densities. They are like $2500 and up though.

 

[Trevine]

They do have PTG that will display the thickness of each layer based on the differing densities. They are like $2500 and up though.

EDIT: " if they came out with a reasonable priced gauge for clear coat, i would be in, otherwise, go light when questionable"

 

[RZJZA80]

The whole point of a paint meter is to know what you're dealing with, so it is an important thing to have when polishing and compounding. The cheaper ones won't tell you exactly how much clear you have but they will give you a good idea of how aggressive you can go in a particular area. If you're reading less than 100 microns you might not want to go crazy on the compounding, for example.

 

[Calendyr]

I have a big problem with the industry and hundreds-of-dollars for a thickness gauge..... it's a huge ripoff to the lamen. Was there a time when tape measures were hundred of dollars? It's simply stupid and its times like this where I say I am glad other companies are commoditizing stuff like this. Genericizing some products makes perfect sense for the consumer.

I purchased mine off ebay for about 150$ if memory serves. I works very well. The more expensive ones usually have the ability to read off composite materials like carbon fiber and fiberglass. But for metal panels, even if the tool was not as precise as the more expensive ones, a few microns difference are not gonna make or break your world. These tools are designed to give you an idea about what you are working with.

 

[Mgavin1985]

I bought it just to feel professional!

 

[Mgavin1985]

It’s arrived. I’m playing with it at what measurement does a person not do correcting so this thing only measures thickness not base, color, clear. Does anyone has experience with this.

 

[conman1395]

There's a big difference between reliability and accuracy. This is, apparently, very reliable but until compared with something that is accurate we can't know how well it actually performs.

To answer your question Mgavin, I don't polish paint if it is 20% thinner than the door jamb paint thickness. that is generally the thinnest part.

I'd really only use something like this (high reliability is useful even if proven inaccurate) without knowing the accuracy to make sure my substrate is what I think it is (AKA not bondo). I pretty much never polish over bondo unless I know more about how/where the repair was done.

 

[mwoolfso]

I purchased mine off ebay for about 150$ if memory serves. I works very well. The more expensive ones usually have the ability to read off composite materials like carbon fiber and fiberglass. But for metal panels, even if the tool was not as precise as the more expensive ones, a few microns difference are not gonna make or break your world. These tools are designed to give you an idea about what you are working with.

I agree. I think degrees of quality can justify commodity vs. specialized or unique pricing - and certainly going into secondary markets for used items make sense as well.

 

[conman1395]

I know that’s pretty crazy huh? I don’t really know what to make of it but at least it’s consistent with its readings. Lol.

Even stranger is that it won’t give me any reading at all on my brothers brand new Ford truck no matter where I test it. That’s the only vehicle it draws a complete blank on.

The new Ford trucks are aluminum. So it doesn't work on anything but steel panels then?