Clearcoat and Paint Thickness Measurements

Does anyone have a handle on the thickness of the clear coat for the Model S?

I just spent the last 20 minutes going around the car and measuring the thickness of the paint with a Nicetu coating thickness gauge and got anywhere from 65 to 75 microns (2.55 to 2.95 mils). I have no pano roof, and the thickness up there ranged from 85 to 105 microns (3.3 to 4.1 mils). Not a whole lot of room to work with; seems very thin. The gauge was calibrated with a 3% error.

CM8801FN Digital Coating Thickness Gauge Paint Meter Tester (Nicetu)

I'm gearing up to apply GTechniq C1 and EXO, but I wonder now if Opti-coat would be better.

I got the blue. VIN 4xxx something. Readings were fairly consistent for each panel.

caddieo said:

What is the industry standard? What do other cars average?

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Well, my wife's Subaru Outback (metallic grey) averaged about 140-150 microns (about 6 mils). I believe Toyota paints range in the 2.5-3 mils range. Just seems really thin for an upgraded paint. I am interested in the thickness of the multicoat paint as well. Problem with these thinner paints is that it limits the amount and frequency of the paint correction that can be done on them.

All the more reason to properly wash and get a protective coating on them.

Right now I have a Menzerna sealant topped with Collinite wax. Soon it will be layered with Gtechniq C1 & EXO. Another good alternative would be Xpel now that I think about how thin this paint is.

JPP said:

...lots of threads on the paint quality/softness

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True.

But none with actual measurements AFAIK.

tomsla said:

The readings around the car ranged from:
125 microns (micrometers) which is 5 mils (5 thousandths of an inch)
to:
250 microns (10 mils).
Does this seem normal?
I ask because the Original Poster said in 2013 that he read: "65 to 75 microns (2.55 to 2.95 mils). I have no pano roof, and the thickness up there ranged from 85 to 105 microns (3.3 to 4.1 mils)"
This seems like quite a difference.

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It's going to depend upon the quality of the paint thickness gauge. The thickness of the clear coat cannot be measured. However, the thickness of the clear coat + base coat + primer can be measured. On early model Teslas (not the multicoat red or pearl), the thickness does range from 75 microns to 115 microns (estimated), which puts it at 3-5 mils (roughly). Measurements of the hood and roof (not all panoramic sunroof models) as well as trunk are in the 100-115 range. When you get to the bottom of the doors near the rocker panels, the thickness is much less -- 75-90 on my car.

So, there is quite a difference in thickness within areas of the car and among vehicles as I've seen.

The margin of error for my reader is 3%.

Of course, some estimate the clear coat to be about 1/4-1/3 of that thickness, so that puts clear coat thickness in the range of 18-40 microns (over the entire car). Given the average polish job takes away a variable 2-3 microns, this may be 10% of the clear coat. A well maintained car polished on average 1-2 years with a light polish and a polishing pad may be OK. However, the more clear removed, the easier it will be to damage the base coat.

250 microns seems really high for a factory paint. Repaint, maybe.

What reader do you have?