rmrmd1956

Does anyone have a recommendation for best economical gauge to measure paint thickness on a car with ppf installed?

Breen

there’s absolutely no reliable standard for this if you’re looking to take a paint thickness measurement in search of a panel that has been repainted if the car has PPF.
you have to remove the PPF

rmrmd1956

So you can’t just add 8 or 10 mils( depending on which ppf) to all the readings to compare panels?
In other words will standard meters consistently read through ppf AND paint on a metal panel or will the ppf throw off the reads and give variable measurements when you measure the same spot repeatedly?

Bxstr

You can totally paint meter PPF. Very easy and you do exactly what you mentioned, add about 8 mills (or whatever the manufacturer states the thickness is) to your readings. I've done it many times on many cars without issue. What gets harder is measuring plastic panel thickness (bumper/carbon hood). Defelsko 200 is what you would need to do that and it is very expensive unless you find a good deal on a used one on eBay.

I have this one, paid around $150, but unfortunately out of stock. https://us.amazon.com/HighLine-2nd-G.../dp/B016KYBIXC.

I've also used the Defelsko's. Haven't used the Elcometer which is great.

For just basic measuring if a car has been painted or not, this should be fine:
For polishing, you'll want the Deflelsko or Elcometer.

rmrmd1956

Awesome, yes I’m just curious about my cars and was going to buy the cheep one you mentioned at the bottom of your post. Not needed for detailing or selling, just for fun, thanks

Breen

yeah just depends on how scientific you want to get and what your goal is. PPF is not a consistent thickness in whole numbers of mm - therefore you may be missing variations of smaller measurement.

if its for fun, then sure. But if you are going to spend lots of money on a new car and your searching for paint/bodywork, best to remove the PPF.

Bxstr

Even the standard paint, within the same panel, will have swings. For instance, higher on a door vs lower on a door can have different readings. When going from an aluminum panel to a steel panel, I've seen swings, likely because the meter is having to do slight compensation between the two types of metal. Then over time, the car will likely have spots that have been polished by someone. When the person polishing is having to do slightly more polishing on a section of the panel, that will cause different readings. Then there's a chance that someone did a spot repair on a panel. Over time, paint meter readings should matter less. For instance, you expect a 20-30 year old Porsche to have a repainted panel of some kind. On a new car, obviously you can expect more consistency and less chance of paint work. I think Porsche owners are some of the few that actually care about paint work. Talked about way less in Ferrari and Lamborghini land.

Paint meters for me have always been a good check that the car didn't have any major repair work. If I see that one door has a reading of 150 microns and the other door has a reading of 300 microns, and the remainder of the car is around 130-170 microns, then I'm guessing the door has been repainted. But if everything is between 130-170 microns, just as an example (40 micron swing), I'm not super concerned.

I will also note that paint meters aren't always a perfect way to check as a very good shop could sand down to the metal and apply paint that is very close to factory thickness. Need to check for paint edges, texture etc. There's also the chance a car was repaired at port and whether that matters to someone since it was technically done by Porsche is up to the individual person.

rmrmd1956

Thanks, that info is very educational snd helpful

MoeMistry

All the great points have already been made

the one that stood out and makes a lot of sense is that ppf starts at 8-11 mils depending on film used

however, depending on the panel and how much installer “pulls” it will definitely change the thickness and may affect the readings

so, you’ll have to take many factors into play to accurately assess the actual paint, but it sounds like you’re on the right track OP 👌

Breen

this is what I meant 👆

you made my point much more eloquently

Bxstr

Makes total sense! Thanks!

FletcherHubbard

In other words will standard meters consistently read through ppf AND paint on a metal panel or will the ppf throw off the reads and give variable measurements when you measure the same spot repeatedly?