How to Measure Paint Thickness on A Car?

After many long-time work in the used car industry, many experienced used car appraisers can judge whether the car has been repaired by observing the appearance of the car body. This technology has been accumulated through years of experience. After the appearance of the car paint meter, a more intuitive and scientific way to identify whether the used car was repainted appeared.

The overall paint film thickness of a car is similar. Since the car is repainted after being smashed, the thickness of the car paint in some parts will increase. Therefore, the film thickness of the car surface can be detected by the car paint meter to judge whether the car is repainted. . If the measured data is only a little higher than the thickness of the original car paint, it may be caused by the repainting of the car after being scraped. If the thickness of the paint surface increases, it is much higher than the thickness of the original paint. Then the car may had a serious accident and has made sheet metal.

So how to measure paint thickness on a car with a car paint meter? We will take the Linshang Technology LS220 car paint meter as an example to describe the measurement steps in detail according to the instrument settings, zero adjustment and measurement sequence.

1. Car paint meter settings

• Long press the power button of the car paint meter in the off state, the instrument will enter the setting interface. 

• The first row of data of this interface indicates three measurement modes.

• The first one is the iron-based measurement mode (Fe). 

• In one mode, the instrument can be used to detect the coating thickness on the magnetic metal substrate.

• This mode is suitable for detecting cars with iron, steel and other materials. 

• The NFe non-ferrous mode refers to the measurement mode for non-magnetic metal substrates, which is suitable for measuring aluminum or other non-magnetic metal body. 

• If the material of the car body cannot be determined before the measurement, the third Fe/NFe mode can be selected. 

• In this mode, the instrument can automatically identify the tested material substrate and switch to the appropriate mode.

2. Car paint meter calibration

If the ambient temperature changes for a long time or the substrate is replaced, the instrument data is required to be zeroed before measurement. That is, it is necessary to perform zero adjustment on the unpainted substrate (body) in advance, or use the iron plate or aluminum plate equipped with the instrument for zero adjustment. By performing zero adjustment, subsequent measurement data can be made more accurate.

3. Car paint thickness measurement

After setting up the car paint meter and preparing for zero adjustment, the measurement is very simple. Simply press the probe of the instrument vertically on the tested object surface. The response speed of the instrument is very fast. A new data can be generated in 0.5 seconds. During the measurement, the measurement position can be continuously changed to expand the measurement range.

The above is a detailed answer on how to measure paint thickness on a car. Of course, many customers will ask after buying the car paint meter, how thick the paint means the car has been repainted. We are unable to give detailed data on this issue for a while. Different brands of cars have different original paints, but most of them are 100 to 180 microns thick. If the thickness of the original paint cannot be confirmed before the measurement. We can also measure the coating thickness of the car roof. Due to the special location, the roof is usually less repainted and its thickness can be used as a reference for the original paint thickness. If you need to use the mobile App, you can choose LS220B Bluetooth automotive paint meter.

If you want to know how to measure the anticorrosive coating thickness on steel structure, you can read "Anticorrosive Coatings Thickness Measurement Using Paint Thickness Meter".