big ben 10 Posted September 22, 2009 anyone done a paint thickness test on their corrado?? im going to attack mine with a rotary polisher in a few months after a bloody good practice on the poor golf :nuts: think i might buy a paint thickness gauge anyway but just wondering what they generally are... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rajarella 0 Posted September 22, 2009 Probably depends how abrassively they have been polished over the years which means thickness will vary from car to car. Mine is covered in chips and scratches which I have put down to the paint either being thin or soft in some way (no paint expert). I reckon I could lick mine off though!......The paint off my car that is :camp: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
millerman 0 Posted September 22, 2009 thicknesses vary ben is your car metalic or solid ? if your gonna go in with a heavy abrasive cutting compound i would sugest a thickness gauge you can get one that shows the depth of the layers of paint to metal which is very usefull i beleve they cost upwards from £400 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peppyuk 0 Posted September 22, 2009 Will depend on location too. The chunk of paint that came off by my passenger door handle is really thick, much thicker than the chips on the bonnet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted September 22, 2009 had mine done by jedi knight and i noted down what he said. i've since got a DA polisher and the only area of paint on the car i experienced any problem with (went through the paint on an edge and revealed white primer) was the area that read the thickest on the depth thingy. I think most of the car was around 120 somethings (microns?) and the area i went through was over 200 iirc and that was using a less abrasive pad and polish than i had used on the bonnet Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jack 0 Posted September 22, 2009 I have a gauge and paid £140. It only reads full paint thickness, so if you had a reading of 120 microns, 50 could be the base, 60 could be the colour coat and 10 the clear coat which would mean you have very little to play with. The depth of each coat also depends on how it has been painted. If the car has had a respray it normally reads higher but you are unsure of each coat thickness. The only way to be sure is to buy a gauge that reads all 3 coats and I think they start around £1500 for a good one. had mine done by jedi knight and i noted down what he said. i've since got a DA polisher and the only area of paint on the car i experienced any problem with (went through the paint on an edge and revealed white primer) was the area that read the thickest on the depth thingy. I think most of the car was around 120 somethings (microns?) and the area i went through was over 200 iirc and that was using a less abrasive pad and polish than i had used on the bonnet The reason you have went through is most likely due to it being an edge. The edge of panels are a sensative area, all it takes is for the paint to heat up enough and the pad the hit a weak spot and its off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aide 0 Posted September 22, 2009 they're called elcometer's, check out ebay link below for better value ones, i have one like it that works just fine - basically uses a magnet and a resistance guage http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Elcometer-211-Coating-Thickness-Banana-Gauge-in-case_W0QQitemZ260450322375QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca40c87c7&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites