- Mil Thickness Gauge, Coating Thickness Gauges, Paint Depth Gauge Meter with Backlight LCD Display for Car Automotive, Limit Alarm/Data Storage/Export Data/PC Software Analysis (Grey)

I'm trying not to gush here, but I have to say that this thing is pretty cool. So far, it just works as advertised, without any drama. Upon trying it the first time, I immediately noticed that the right front fender on my car (that I bought used, but nearly new) has apparently been repainted. The coating thickness on it was nearly triple that on the rest of the car. Otherwise, you would never know. I'll never shop for another used car without a gadget like this. The only negative I've experienced is that maybe one in 20 measurements is bad (reads way thick). I'm guessing that this is just because I didn't touch the panel quickly enough, or I had it at an angle, or some such user error. It's really not a big deal, though. You can take a dozen measurements in seconds, so you know instantly when you get a bad reading. If the thickness is way higher than the last measurement, you instinctively just re-do the measurement. I just got it, so I can't say anything about durability yet, but it has a warranty, so I'm not overly concerned about that.

This device here has automatic recognition of metals and 3% accuracy, which seems to be a great standard these days. However, the 3% accuracy applies only if you hold the tool perfectly. I will write more about this in a later part of my review. In short, the way I see it, the biggest accuracy will actually come from the user handling the tool correctly. The device comes with some samples of set values that can be used for trying out how to use the tool, as well as for verifying the tools calibration. As far as size goes, it is just a hint too big for my liking. However, given the great price this is no deal breaker. Still, I have seen units that were smaller, a bit bigger than business card size, which I would have liked better. This one on the other hand is almost as big as my iPhone SE. Buying a paint measure gauge, I was on the fence first, but now I am really glad that I have bought it. Earlier, I brought my car to a detailer shop to get the paint measured, but having my own gauge and being able to spend more time with it, I was able to get a much more comprehensive picture of my car with a more detailed measurement of every area, including of my buffed out scratch. As it turned out, within an inch of the scratch location, the paint fell steeply to 98 to as low as 95 micron. Further away it is about 125 micron and as much as 130 micron. Although, I have measured other spots on the car as well that had 95 micron. It seems around 115 may be my average. All that just as a side note example of course. One thing I have to say, I believe all of these gauges work based on the same principle and possibly even have the same internals, therefore none of these gauges may work all too great to measure cars, simply by limitations of the process. This is because it seems that these gauges are built to measure flat surfaces, with the surfaces on our cars are of course being mostly not flat. As a result, the measurement will be greatly influenced by how accurately plumb the user is holding the gauge to the surface. And from what I have seen, based on the way the tool is held, the reading can easily vary with as much as 20 microns. If you hit a the spot perfectly plumb, the value will be the lowest. Otherwise, the value will raise of course, because you are not holding the gauge correctly and there will be more space between your probe. Also and I have not seen this mentioned anywhere, not even on the internet; there is a notch on the probe and it is very important that this notch to be perpendicular to the curve of the panel. Otherwise, the curve of the car may ‘fall in’ and influence/distort the reading. All in all, as far as practical use goes, I see some limitations of this tool. For example, measuring a car with unknown history by random samples may turn out to be entirely useless, because you would really have to measure the entire car inch by inch in order to find a low spot that may have been color sanded down prior. So if you are buying a used car or detailing someone else’s car, it would be still a matter of trust that they are disclosing to you the entire history of the vehicle to you. Of course, if it is your own vehicle, then it is an entirely different story. In that case you can probably get a good use out of it evaluating your paint condition. Overall, I like this tool very much. If I lost it, I would buy this one again. I have already recommended it to a good friend, who has already bought it and seems just to be just as happy with it, as I am.

Unit works well and is reliable. The instruction manual needs work. The print is so tiny that is had to be read with a magnifying glass. The calibration process was a little tricky figuring out which buttons to push and when ... because (again) the manual sucks.

I used to have one of these when I was a used car auction buyer. Back 15 years ago it was a basic a tool in the used car business, as a hammer is to a carpenter. So it needed a new one and so far I used it on 5 cars and it works great!. Simple, cheap, constructed rather well. What I like about it, and is important to be, is no resting. Just move about the car checking as many points to evaluate the paint thickness quickly and easily. It already paid for itself 10 fold helping me negotiate a sweet deal on a used car.

This is a fine and affordable paint thickness meter. I recently took an automobile paint polishing class and the training facility uses this meter; it’s easy to calibrate and easy to use. I decided to buy one and am quite happy with it. I would note that the measurements do have some variability. This is unavoidable at any price outside of a laboratory environment. I found the variability to be within reason. I feel comfortable using this meter to judge, for example, whether or not OEM clear coat remains, or whether or not a panel has been painted over. Recommended.

Not sure what possessed me to buy this tool, it’s not at all practical for the average car owner. My only question is does it show more thickness when the car has paint sealant applied?

I had no problem getting "0" readings on bare metal; however, as soon as I added one of the provided attachments for calibrating coated metal, the readings were all over the place. Assuming I was doing something wrong, I contacted the seller for help in calibration but they just referred me to the manual. Also, the manual says to place the gauge "quickly" on the metal; this is because if you move too slowly, the gauge will give a reading before you even touch the metal. I ended up returned the gauge.

I like this thickness gauge, seems to be better than most not in the commercial price range. Readings can have some deviation, calibration can play a factor. The case is nice for protection. The software is less than desirable, it should be re-written and compiled again. Again, it is great for discerning paint deviation. I would not use readings to sell a vehicle since how can one testify to the reading's accuracy, but it can paint a picture (get it, paint a picture). In my opinion, it is worth the investment.