Orange Peel thickness guage?

[Jeff Burrows]

Dear Meguiars and all other car enthusiasts you all know that when there is no orange peel your clearcoat is getting pretty thin and endangering your paint. I know a lot of you would say that you have to get a paint thickness guage to measure your paint when you buff to make sure you are not buffing to much. But if you still have orange peel cant you still buff without to much of a concern? Because if orange peel sits at the top it will eventually were down with all the passes of a rotary from time to time. Or you could remove it all at once with color sanding and achive that flat finish. Anyway that is my thought.
Jeff Burrows

[newtlicious]

It is my understanding and personal experience that buffing will make your car more reflective and shiny but it will not eliminate orange peel. The foam pads used on a rotary buffer are soft and will conform to the peaks and valleys in your paint. This will have the effect of polishing the entire surface thereby giving you shinier orange peel. Only a rigid or rubber sanding block and some 2000 or so grit wet paper will cut the peaks off and level the surface. I hope this helps.

[Jeff Burrows]

So you are saying that it will not remaove the orange peel and will just shine it. Thank you.:bow http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/newreply.php?s=&action=newreply&threadid=4682#

[Superior Shine]

The presents of or lack of orange peel isn't an indication of how much material there is to work with.

A few things to look for that will tell you that you may have reason to be concerned that a finish is thin, maybe age of the car, buffer marks in the paint, thin edges or edges that have had the paint "burned" off.

Also notice if any panels have paint on them that don't match (color or texture) the adjoining areas.

[Jason Rose]

Mr. Superior Shine is exactly right on about paint thickness (he must have gotten some good training somewhere...more likely...the years of experience he has!)

You can have texture (orange peel) in the paint, and still have thin paint. Or, you can have texture and thick paint.

Best to measure paint thickness in order to have the most confidence in what you are dealing with...especially before trying advanced detail procedures (like wet sanding or heavy rotary buffing.)

Hope this helps,

Jason "Waxman" Rose
Senior Area Sales Manager, Meguiar's, Inc.

[Jose Torres]

Great question, and great answers! If I could chime in for a second...

Originally posted by Jeff Burrows
But if you still have orange peel cant you still buff without to much of a concern?

You actually have more control over how much surface is being removed while color sanding than you do when using rotary application. When you are buffing, variables such as the RPM setting, amount of pressure being applied, and the type of pad & product being used (just to mention a few) can have an effect on the amount of surface that is removed. Because of this, you want to minimize the amount of rotary buffing that you do, and only do what is required to correct the defect properly. This is where the Electronic Film Build Reader can become your best friend. If you remove too much clear (more than .5 a mil), the end result can be clearcoat erosion, which in turn will require a complete refinish.

[Miracle]

How much is a Electronic Film Build Reader over there? I 've gotta pay £700 over here in the UK:mad:

[Superior Shine]

They cost about $500 - $600.

[v12]

Acually I have a good luck that I bought from Ebay gently used Check-Line Coating Thickness Gauges DCF-2000, originaly cost $595 for $77 !!!:)


http://www.newmantools.com/checkline/2000.jpg

Try to find one there my friend. http://www.reliabilitydirect.com/ultrasoundproducts/ELE-2000.htm