Anyone else have a Defelsko Positest DFT Combo-Paint thickness gauge?

G

gmblack3

New member
I ordered one today from Phil @ DD. Great service as usual.



I looked at a few other units, but decided on this one due to its small size and large display.



DFT_2.3mils.jpg
 
Sweet purchase! How thick should it measure? I assume you're measuring the clear coat? Or are you measuring the clear and the pigment?



How thick is a typical factory clear coat?
 
This one will measure the total surface coating, so both paint and clear. I think the units that measure each coating are about double in price.
 
So how do you know what the proper measurement should be if you don't know how much clear is available to work with when compounding?



I guess that's why I asked what a typical factory clear should measure. Since you can't measure the clear I assume you'll have to know how thick a typical factory color coat is and then subtract that from your total reading to get the measurement of the clear?



I a little confused as to what the reading should be in order to know how safe you are when you attack the paint.
 
Spilchy said:
I a little confused as to what the reading should be in order to know how safe you are when you attack the paint.
Click to expand...



I think it was Jimmy Buffit who talked about how difficult this can be. Since there is variation in the factory total film build as well as clear build, unless you know the whole history of the car it can be near impossible to know how much clear is actually there. I think the quoted safe removal number is .3 mils, but if you take a baseline measurement on a "used" car, and figure you won't go over .3, do you really know that someone hasn't already done that? (since you could have more than .3 variation from car to car, etc.)
 
So, does it measure from bare metal out?



If so, I bet you'd get crazy jumps when you hit a joint that's welded or bonded from the factory? There could be tons of fillers in those sections.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I think it was Jimmy Buffit who talked about how difficult this can be. Since there is variation in the factory total film build as well as clear build, unless you know the whole history of the car it can be near impossible to know how much clear is actually there. I think the quoted safe removal number is .3 mils, but if you take a baseline measurement on a "used" car, and figure you won't go over .3, do you really know that someone hasn't already done that? (since you could have more than .3 variation from car to car, etc.)
Click to expand...

Short answer no,



long answer, nien
 
I was thinking that this is used to MAKE SURE you dont burn through the paint. If you dont know how thick the clear coat is, then you cant judge if your going to burn through. What is a good one that can measure both the clear coat and paint?
 
baseballlover1 said:
I was thinking that this is used to MAKE SURE you dont burn through the paint. If you dont know how thick the clear coat is, then you cant judge if your going to burn through. What is a good one that can measure both the clear coat and paint?
Click to expand...



Those only run, what.... around 2k? $$$$$
 
Grouse said:
Short answer no,



long answer, nien
Click to expand...



Please enlighten us with the long answer so we can understand the need for this investment since there seems to be some confusion as well as potential for variations in measurements if you have no real baseline.
 
Spilchy said:
Please enlighten us with the long answer so we can understand the need for this investment since there seems to be some confusion as well as potential for variations in measurements if you have no real baseline.
Click to expand...



Well...you can tell how much you are taking off, which is something. You can also make some educated guesses about things. If you come up with 10 mils...you can be pretty sure that panel has been repainted. If you measure 3 mils, you can be pretty sure there isn't a ton of clear.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Well...you can tell how much you are taking off, which is something. You can also make some educated guesses about things. If you come up with 10 mils...you can be pretty sure that panel has been repainted. If you measure 3 mils, you can be pretty sure there isn't a ton of clear.
Click to expand...

Yep....



I have a ETG-2 and I'll get a decent overall picture of the thickness of the paint and clear on each panel. It will help identify previous refinsh work and point out possible problem the areas with the least amount of coating......



For guys who wet sand and compound, you can check your work as you go along noting how much you are removing along the way.....



Just another tool in the box.....
 
Spilchy said:
Please enlighten us with the long answer so we can understand the need for this investment since there seems to be some confusion as well as potential for variations in measurements if you have no real baseline.
Click to expand...

setec pretty much nailed it.



What i am looking for s a .5-.7 consistency in mills. across the panel. lets say i am measuring a s430 (this happened on tues) I get readings from 4.8-4.2 on 95% of the car. the Hard edges ones that had been noticeably polished were 3.5, 3.7 I really start to worry. I mark those deviation with a wet thumb print so i remember them when polishing. Sometimes it is just the opposite, You are checking and you go from 4.5-18.0 mills. and you realize this has been resprayed.I also mark those areas, as often respray behaves vastly differently than oem paint. Usually softer than that vehicles OEM. The final way i use it is in testing of scratch and marr removal. When i get a panel to work on i will split scratches in two parts one side is for removal by polishing, and the other is for removal by wet sanding then polishing. THE PDM allows me to really see how much clear i am removing with both methods.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top