Paint Thickness Gauges | Measuring Paint Thickness | Paint Measurements

How Our Service Works:

Log in to our Website and create a user profile with your address and basic information. No credit card information is taken until you decide to place an order. All personal information is kept private in accordance with the terms and provisions of our Privacy Notice. Place your order with us by 10 p.m. Eastern Time to recieve your shipment on the 2nd Business Day. If ordering on a Friday, you may choose Saturday delivery for an additional fee and Sundays are always free. Orders received after 10 p.m. Eastern Time will be received on the 3rd business day and orders placed on a Friday without upgrading to Saturday delivery will be received on the 2nd Business Day, usually the following Tuesday.

One of our sales representatives will send you one of our Paint Thickness Gauges by UPS Second Day Air free of charge to you. You will receive the shipment in our hard shell, crush and water proof cases packaged in a biodegradable cardboard box on the 2nd Business Day. Store the biodegradable cardboard box in a safe place to be used when returning the Gauge back to Automobile Exam.

Take the Gauge with you car shopping and use it at dealerships or with private sellers to evaluate vehicles and eliminate those that don’t meet your standards quickly and efficiently. When you have found the car you want, use the information you have received from our Gauge to negotiate a fair price for the vehicle taking into account appropriate reductions for any repainted panels.

When you are finished, simply return the Gauge in its hard shell case utilizing the same biodegradable cardboard box it came in. Seal the box with our pre-paid return UPS label. Simply bring the package directly to a UPS Store or to a UPS Drop Box for easy drop off and shipping.

How Our Paint Thickness Gauges Work:

Our Gauges measure the thickness of a car’s paint. The paint should be only as thick as it came from the manufacturer, and if it is too thick or too thin, it's evidence that the metal vehicle panels have been repainted or replaced. Our Gauges measure in mils (a mil is 1/1,000 of an inch or 0.001 inches) and most manufacturer paints range from 3.5 mils to 5.5 mils in thickness. Readings in that range are safe readings and indicate original paint. Higher readings indicate repainted panels and lower readings indicate replaced panels or panels with paint damage due to excessive buffing or detail work, either of which severely reduce the value of a vehicle.

When using our Gauges, follow the instructions exactly as provided below. Remember that Automobile Exam is not responsible for damage caused by misuse of our Gauges and our customers should be very careful when using them. Please refer to our terms and conditions for more information regarding this and all of our policies.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Paint measurements are taken by gently placing the Gauge’s probe against the metal painted surface. Gauge will power on when probe is pressed.

Hold the Gauge completely steady and still for about 1 second until a reading is displayed.

DO NOT SLIDE, DRAG OR MOVE THE PROBE AGAINST THE PAINTED SURFACE IN ANY WAY. THIS MAY SCRATCH OR DAMAGE THE PAINTED SURFACE. OUR GAUGE MUST BE HELD COMPLETELY STILL AND STEADY WHEN PLACED AGAINST THE PAINTED SURFACE. AUTOMOBILE EXAM IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS OR MISUSE OF OUR GAUGES.

When measurement is obtained, the reading will be display on the LCD screen.

Remove the Gauge from the painted metal surface and read the measurement. There is no "right" paint thickness for any vehicle, but generally, original manufacturer paint thickness ranges between 3.5 mils and 5.5 mils. Make a note of the readings as you go around the vehicle and determine whether there are any repainted or replaced panels.

Paint thickness measurements on all panels of a car should be consistent and generally measure within 1.5 mils of each other. Paint thickness consistency shows original factory quality paint. For example, when you are reading between 3.5 and 5.0 mils, a large increase or decrease in thickness, such as a reading of 6 or 7 mils, indicates a repainted or replaced panel. If all the panels are over 5.5 mils, it’s a good indication that the entire car has been repainted.

NOTE: Our Gauges are only able to read metal and aluminum panels. Plastic panels such as bumper covers, tire covers or fiberglass panels cannot be evaluated using our standard Gauges. Note that plastic bumper covers are routinely repainted by dealers to prepare cars for resale and generally do not affect the value of a car’s resale. Dealers generally do not check bumper covers other than visually when evaluating a used car for purchase or trade-in.