Pro Gauge II Paint Thickness Measuring Device

Good question. I've heard several conflicting comments. This is one for Dave at Premier Motorsport, 310-559-1562 or [email protected]

 

It is well known that Ferrari's paint is layed unevenly; thinner in some areas than others with a wider margin than other sports cars like Porsche and Lambo. The spacing of panels is available in the disc version of the owner's manual. I've seen it because I had to set my front bumper and took the reading so when I remounted it I was somewhere close. These tolerances are very exact on Ferrari, and the panels are very, very carefully placed to spec. If you are trying to determine if a particular panel has been painted, and Ferrari did it, you may not be able to tell. If someone else did it, you may detect a difference.

 

I have seen .5 and greater on brand new Fcars as well, pretty scarey!!!!! BMW's are within .2-.3 of each panel, never more, unless they have had touch up work at the docks. Motor companies are not required to report the damage or repair that they perform at the shipyards.

Robert

 

VERY TRUE!

 

How does this work on cars that have protective film on them. A lot of our cars have panels completley covered with protective film. Cans these be measured?

 

You can't measure the paint with the protective film in place, because it would then be measuring the film in addition, if it could get any reading at all. Not all paint thickness gauges can read depths in regards to materials like plastics or fiberglass.

Ferraris are notoriously known for having wildly inconsistent paint thickness readings from panel to panel. It makes it basically impossible to know if a panel has been repainted from the factory, they are that inconsistent. The only differences you are likely to detect are aftermarket paint additions, those tend to add a great deal more paint so they are slightly more noticeable.

 

Ferrari paint and inconsistancy is an understatement!!

I know of a Stradale whose paint was so thin from factory it had to be resprayed.... My Stradale had such a bad paint job on door that it too was resprayed as well as the the quarter panels, all done under Ferrari Factory warranty. So i guess they just figure it as a cost of doing business, if you bark loud enough they fix it....

What was it that Enzo Ferrari said, something like this....When you buy a Ferrari you are paying for the engine and transmission, we just throw in the body at no charge!!

 

I believe he also said something like..." I don't car if the door gaps are straight or if it has electric windows, when they hit the gas i want it to scare the **** out of them" so again perfect paint was just not on his priority list and rightfully so, Ferrari is a drivers car.

 

I spoke to Dave of Premier on this topic and he said panels have historically been painted off car by hand, so the panel differences are pretty typical. Based on conversations with 3 shops that specialize in italian cars:

- paint thickness is usually 7-9mils for Ferraris, but can run as high as 10
- paint thickness above 12-15 mils is concerning (ie the threshold beyond which repair/repaint was likely).
- panel to panel differences of 3+ mils are not uncommon because the panels are not sprayed continuously
- touch-up work at the docks or the factory is not uncommon, nor is imperfect paint from the factory (I think there are a few examples of this on FerrariChat)

Basically, my takeaway is running a paint meter won't tell too you much unless the paint thickness is > 12mils. It may ultimately be more helpful for someone skilled to look for evidence of blending, tape lines, overspray, etc.

 

Thanks for the information!