Why is measuring paint so important?
Why is this important to know?
"Firstly, let us look at what the paint is comprised of. There are three layers: Primer, Base Color Coat, and Clear Coat (lacquer). The thickness of the paint you see on your car is measured in microns (µm), with 1 micron being the equivalent of one thousandth of a millimeter (1/1000mm). It is the protective top layer, Clear Coat, which the machine polishing will be removing. By taking the all-important Paint Depth reading, you can ascertain how much paint you have to play with from the outset.
Typically, the total thickness of the three layers on most of the cars we see produced today will be between 67 microns (µm) and 198 microns (µm). Undertaking some machine polishing will likely remove 2-3 microns of clear coat, unless of course, a very abrasive compound + pad combination is used. Ordinarily, this will normally be enough to remove most imperfections that may be in place.
So, as we have already touched upon, one of the major advantages of a Paint Depth Reader is it will provide a bit of a backstory to a vehicle's paintwork. Take a reading on a panel where the gauge tells you it is greater than 198 microns (µm), and it is more than likely that there has been some form of respray carried out."
When correcting scratches or blemishes in paint, you are essentially removing paint. You must first understand the paint before you put a machine to that paint. Most everyone in the car industry has noticed that paints on new cars are getting thinner and thinner. You need to understand the thickness of that paint so as not to burn through. Another factor that many of us are seeing is the use of multiple detailers or detailers that are not trained to understand what they are working with. Some detailers will see scratches, swirls, holograms, etc. and say they can fix it and make the paint shiny. They don't measure the paint and just jump on it with a machine, and in the end, one may have a shiny, vibrant vehicle. Then, in a year, the owner of that vehicle may utilize the services of another detailer, and that person may just jump on that paint with a machine without measuring, and boom, they can burn through the paint.
One of the most valuable tools that we use in our shop is the NexDiag NexPTG Professional. This tool has many features:
• Suggested measurement points
• Moveable head
• Works on steel, galvanized steel & aluminum
• Buyer's guide
• Zero feature for rough or curved surfaces
• Extended Lacquer Coating Analysis System
• Export of measurement history
• Creation of reports
• Curve measurement
• V-groove in the probe for positioning on cylindrical parts
• Mils/Microns selection
• The capability to run a full paint report and save.
