Electronic Paint gauges...Necessary or Un-necessary?

[CalgaryDetail]

Originally Posted by Stephan

I wonder how much the one calgary uses is???

there 2 grand a peice... theres oen for metals an one for compisate (dont worry i didnt pay for them, my partner did before we started the business)


As a "user" of a pait thikness gauge I have a few thoughts, keep in mind these are just opions.
Are they needed? nope not at all. I have deailed many cars without them

are they cool? hells yes lol

ok but back on topic. do you need them nope, but they are nice to have. Its a great way to make sure there is enough clear (which we have found some sections or pannels... heck even cars donot) they are expensive and only used when polishing but they are a nice saftey net.

Like i said i did not use them for a long tme, but have fallen in love with them. ITs nice knowing. Plus you can make a cool graph


There are cheaper ones on the market that work well frm what I have read....

[black bart]

I just had my car repainted last fall and they put on 8 coats of clear.

For me it would be absolute waste of money.

I shall find something else to blow my money on

[heatgain]

Originally Posted by black bart

I just had my car repainted last fall and they put on 8 coats of clear.

There must be a way you can make sure they did put on all 8 coats.

[Woob]

$50 is a magnetic gauge and not worth it for me, it's like buying Costco MF. If you call yourself a pro, you better have a Paint Gauge.

[rabbi]

I don't need one. I need sleep.

[Jngrbrdman]

Originally Posted by The Woob

$50 is a magnetic gauge and not worth it for me, it's like buying Costco MF. If you call yourself a pro, you better have a Paint Gauge.

I disagree with that entirely. For one, I think you can call yourself a pro and not use a paint gauge. A pro should be smart enough to know what he can and cannot use on a car based on the condition. Also, you can't really compare a professional tool (even though it isn't a high priced electronic gadget, it still works) to cheap towels at Costco. This may be old school technology, but it is still a scientifically tuned coating measuring device. Don't discount it just because it is inexpensive. It doesn't have to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars in order to work.

[Mindflux]

Originally Posted by The Woob

$50 is a magnetic gauge and not worth it for me, it's like buying Costco MF. If you call yourself a pro, you better have a Paint Gauge.

So, what precisely did folks do before EPG's were invented? Was there not a solitary Pro detailer in existence?

[Mindflux]

I wanted to bump this post.. I found a few folks talking about this PTG at HF. Linky to topic.

Paint Thickness Gauge, Cheapo Harbor Freight First Test Results. - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online

[CharlesW]

Good find Mindflux.
Here's a direct link to the HF EPTG.
Harbor Freight Paint Thickness Gauge

[Mindflux]

The instructions mentions an included calibration plate. I guess as long as you kept it calibrated it couldn't be +- a few percent?

[Jngrbrdman]

BlueZero has that same model. I wonder if he will find this thread and post his thoughts on it after having played with it for a few months. On the Meguiar's forum he posted on back in January he said it was pretty accurate.