Using a paint thickness gauge is as easy as placing it on the surface where you need to do your paint thickness test. But what do you do when the readings you get are far from the expected values or the readings keep changing from one point to the next on the same test material?
Understanding what a paint thickness gauge is and how it really works will explain to you where these differences come from and how you can correct them in order to confidently use the instrument for your quality checks. Keep reading to get more information and answers on the working principles, applications, and advantages of this test instrument.
What is Paint Thickness Gauge?
A paint thickness gauge (also called a paint meter or paint depth gauge) is an instrument used to measure the thickness of paint coating in a non-destructive way.
It has a sensor that measures the distance between the top layer of paint and the body under the paint and this measured distance becomes the paint thickness value read in microns.
Application of Paint Thickness Gauge
Paint thickness gauges are used widely in different industries because of their non-destructive nature for process and quality control purposes. Some of the applications where paint meters are important are;
Quality control; used for process quality control in manufacturing plants during the application of paint that requires uniform coating. Examples of these are metal structures industries. A paint thickness gauge ensures the paint coating is within the expected standards for the particular product or industry.
In the automotive industry for paint job quality diagnosis. Car paint thickness is tested before purchasing a car, during repairs of dents or damaged paint jobs, insurance assessment, and during removal of surface scratches.
Knowing the paint thickness reading is also important in ascertaining whether a car has been repainted after it left the factory. A vehicle may be repainted either due to an accident or on changing of its original color.
In infrastructure to determine the quality of anti-corrosive coating on structures that are constantly exposed to moisture such as ships and bridges. This is important in evaluating the outer material’s performance and checking the material life span. It is also used as a way of checking the integrity of the outer covers and thus the overall quality of these structures.
Advantages of Paint Thickness Gauge?
Portable, and fast diagnostic method. It is a lightweight and compact instrument that uses principles that are able to measure the paint thickness within a few seconds.
Measurement stability and precision. It has a digital display giving stable readings and high precision giving readings as low as 0.1-microns, with a plus or minus 2 – 3% accuracy.
Shows the type of metal on the digital display. The instrument gives details of the type of body/ metal under the paint. This is important, especially for quality control, pricing, and insurance purposes.
It can be used to check the paint thickness on several points on the same item. If repairs or repainting has been done on a small portion of the item, for example, a dent on the surface of a car. Measuring several positions will show different values and expose this information that might have been hidden from a buyer.
It is a cheap method of thickness analysis. Unlike the destructive methods of paint thickness analysis, the cost of the job will not increase no matter how many times the instrument is used during measurement.
Conclusion
A paint thickness gauge is an instrument used for checking the depth of paintwork on a surface. Paint thickness values are important for industrial applications such as in the metal and automotive industries to check on the quality of paintwork and thickness of materials in comparison to industry set standards.
NDT-KITS is a supplier of different kinds of paint thickness gauges that are easy to use, have high accuracy, and have a wide range of applications. No matter the industry you are in or what you intend to use your instrument for, NDT-KITS has a paint thickness gauge that is a perfect fit for you.
