USING QNIX® handy PAINT METER TO BUY USED CAR – A MUST FOR CAR DEALERSHIPS

There are different ways to buy a car: buying a brand new car from the manufacturers or a brand new car / used car from contracted dealerships, government auctions, and public auctions.  Recently, car buying can be done online: eBay Motors Dashub, Salvage Bide, Auto Auction Mall, etc., – at the comfort of your home. At public auctions and auto auction malls, most cars are reconditioned, and their body panel looks shiny. But shiny does not always mean that a car is in good condition. In this regard, one should be vigilant when buying a car at the auctions. If you are not a car expert, it is advisable to have an expert accompany you to a car auction. Visual inspection alone does not guarantee the quality of a car. However, you can look for paint overspray and other signs of repairs. Take down the car’s Vehicle Identification Number -VIN and check the history and value on websites like CARFAX, KELLEY BLUE BOOK, etc. Lack of expertise can be compensated by the use of tools such as paint meter/gauge. It can become expensive if you do not. You need to make a fast decision at auto auctions. Automotive Paint Thickness Meter makes it easier to accurately assess the paint thickness on the body panel.

The Accurate paint Meter Readings: There are certain mistakes made by operators or buyers using paint meter to inspect the paint thickness of a car. Whether small in size or not, handling the paint meter is important. Hold the Paint meter with the sensor fully placed on the measuring surface. Hold your QNix® Paint Meter for dry film thickness measurement - automotive/car paint meter comfortably at 45 or 90 angles against the car body, depending on which part of the car panel is being measured. The second mistake observed is measuring paint thickness or using car paint meters on the wet car body panel. It should be noted that you measure thickness similar to that of a hair. Meaning that film of water or dirt can considerably impact the measured thickness. It is advisable to measure dry spots. Use a clean – good absorbing cloth or tissue to wipe off wetness on the car panel before measuring. The other issue of a wet surface is the tendency of moisture to get into the electronics of the paint meter as the sensor moves in and out of the gauge body during the measuring process. Having water in the interior of the paint meter can be the end of that device. In most cases, moisture causes corrosion (break-down of material) of the electronic parts leading to complete damage to the car paint meter. Moisture can also be a problem on the car panel itself - For car care products and ideas visit Car Wax Blog.

The notion of obtaining the same paint thickness while measuring a panel is not realistic. This does not mean that measured thicknesses should have large discrepancies. Your QNix® Paint Meter for dry film thickness measurement will tell you that....... Expect to have readings that are in small variations, as automotive/car paint meters take spot readings / on sensor head dimension (sensor measurements) and not one reading on a large surface.  That said, with a good Paint meter we should be looking for the inconsistency of measurements taken on different body parts. A sudden jump in value might indicate a panel is refinished. For those who measure many cars on auctions a day, we recommend that you carry replacement batteries with you. Battery consumption can sometimes depend on the manufacturer of the paint meter– Low-cost and poorly manufactured paint gauges might have higher battery consumption due to the electronic parts used to manufacture the automotive paint meter.

Remember that the best budget paint depth gauge meters - as there are many in the market today, are not necessarily the best in quality. Make sure you do your homework - ask friends and industry leaders to recommend a reliable paint meter for you. 

What to know about Car Paint thickness readings – Not completely unveiling it with a Paint Meter!

There are more technical details to consider when talking about the thickness of paint applied on a car panel than the straightforward detection with a Paint Gauge. Whereas there is no rule as to which thickness to adhere to when it comes to nonreworked car panels, experience indicates that automobile manufacturers apply an average of 110 -125 microns (4-5 mils) of total paint thickness. During the painting process, the entire car frame is e-dipped and electro-coated, which might mean guaranteeing uniformity of paint thickness. 

However, hard to reach areas might be painted using a spray gun, leading to overspray and rendering one of the common imperfections on that panel. The car body frame receives a pre-treatment, an E-coat (22 microns), Primer (33 microns), Basecoat (15 microns), and Clearcoat (30-50 microns). Due to the differences in paint thickness requirements for paint colors, giving that every color has a different opacity, you might measure different paint thicknesses on the same car model and manufacturer with different paint colors. Another remarkable difference in paint thickness among models comes from how much clearcoat – no pigment, a manufacturer decides to apply on the panel in the final painting process. 

Although clearcoat will increase the shine of the car body and the resistance to oxidation, it is very scratch sensitive. This explains why some automobile manufacturers will apply more clearcoat – shine and glamor make the first impression on the buyer.