Paint thickness measured...and it sucks

[Red Baron]

After all the threads complaining about paint thickness, I took a minute to compare coating thickness between my red P5 and a white Chrysler Town and Country minivan

P5
Hood : .0041"
Roof top : .0033"
Driver door : .0037"
Hatch : .0039"

Town & Country
Hood : .008"
Roof top : .006"
Driver door : .0062"
Hatch : .0079"



I should check this on other cars too, but numbers can't lie...Mazda paint sucks:mad:

 

[rodslinger]

But Chrysler needs more paint to compensate for lack of preparation and the likely delamination problems they will have.

 

[TexP5]

How did you take these measurements? What tool do you use for that? This is the first useful thing I've ever seen about the paint problem. Everyone just complains without a logical explanation.

But to be fair to Mazda, don't you think you should measure more than one other car before you say "Mazda paint sucks?" Maybe it really does, but a one car comparison isn't exactly scientific proof.

 

[Red Baron]

How did you take these measurements? What tool do you use for that? This is the first useful thing I've ever seen about the paint problem. Everyone just complains without a logical explanation.

But to be fair to Mazda, don't you think you should measure more than one other car before you say "Mazda paint sucks?" Maybe it really does, but a one car comparison isn't exactly scientific proof.

You are right about me being too quick to say this but you can be sure I'll mesure the coating thickness on as many cars (color and makes) I can. I'll post the results later.

The tool I'm using is a Elcometer digital coating thickness gauge, model 345 (calibrated every week). I'm using this tool everyday in my work (QA Tech.), we have a powder coating line here (very useful...hehe).

 

[LambOfSilence]

Neat...

Nice, now i can complain about the thin paint with some numbers to back up, it seems like we only have half of the thickness of a town and country.

BTW, does colour differs? My vivid yellow is starting to chip as well, 5 chips so far, and it has only been 5 months.

 

[Red Baron]

Re: Neat...

Nice, now i can complain about the thin paint with some numbers to back up, it seems like we only have half of the thickness of a town and country.

BTW, does colour differs? My vivid yellow is starting to chip as well, 5 chips so far, and it has only been 5 months.

Bought mine on February 25th, about 9000miles (14000km) now, and no "chips" (I'm not 100% sure what a chip is), but many small touch ups because of small stones and road salt. In order not to damage the paint, I cut the gas cap cord (that thing was :mad: :mad: :mad: ). I mentioned this before, a stone the size of a golf ball destroyed my lower front grill, but it hit the painted part (horizontal facia part) first and did NOT chip the paint, it actually made a dent and the paint followed the shape, no cracks...

 

[LambOfSilence]

Re: Re: Neat...

Bought mine on February 25th, about 9000miles (14000km) now, and no "chips" (I'm not 100% sure what a chip is),


when you can see the white undercoat beneath your red paint, its a chip, usually the size of the tip of a pen


but many small touch ups because of small stones and road salt.


Ouch!


I mentioned this before, a stone the size of a golf ball destroyed my lower front grill, but it hit the painted part (horizontal facia part) first and did NOT chip the paint, it actually made a dent and the paint followed the shape, no cracks...

ouch! ouch! I was planning to drive down to Portland (from Vancouver) this weekend, I will reconsider... ouch!

 

[Don]

Why are we equating paint thickness with paint quality?

I'd rather have 5 thousanths of the "good stuff" than half an inch of the cheap stuff.

My red '94 Miata has been compounded and waxed dozens of times, (necessary on any red car without clearcoat) and the paint's not worn through anywhere as yet.

Don

 

[nramsey]

I agree. Thin paint doesn't mean it sucks. It also doesn't make it nessisarily less prone to chip. Paint chips, that's life. My last car was a '97 Nissan Altima and the front end of that thing looked like it was sandblasted...but the paint seemed thick.

I decided to prent chipping on my car and installed Stongard. No chips so far...

 

[WhiteZoomZoom]

I dont know much about paints....but I heard that a normal car would have about 30 layers of paint......
and I also heard that a Audi S4 has 60 layers of paint coz its special........

 

[TexP5]

I seriousdly doubt it has 60 coats of paint, but if it does...I guess that's why it costs $40k

 

[Nstaller]

My P5 has about 4 coats of paint, since the dealer's body shop can't paint worth a damn. I wound up having to take it to my own body shop and bill them for it.

 

[sjdmp5]

If you put too many coats of paint/clear coat on a car, the paint willl actually crack in cold weather. No current production car has 60 coats of paint, not even 30 coats. It's usually 2-3 coats of colour topped with 2-3 coats of clear.