The Role of Paint Thickness in Protecting Luxury Vehicles

Paint thickness for car protection… It’s probably not the first thing that springs to mind when you’re considering how to look after your ride’s gleaming exterior. But for self-proclaimed car paint care nerds like us, it’s something that’s close to our hearts. 

When a car rolls off the factory line it’ll have a paint coating somewhere between 2.5 – 7.7 mils. This is made up of a primer, a color coat, and a thin top lacquer. In general, the more luxurious the car, the thicker the paint.  But that shiny façade isn’t just about looks, it also plays an important role in protecting the metal and other composite materials that your vehicle is constructed from. 

The exact thickness can be measured using a car paint thickness gauge. This uses electrical currents to determine the depth of the layers. It’s a valuable tool that can give multiple clues about the vehicle.

What Paint Thickness Can Reveal About Car Bodywork

Significant paint thickness variations across car panels can be a sign of bodywork damage. Overly thick paint might be indicative of a respray, perhaps after an accident, repairing rust damage, or an area of paint repair. Any damage to the bare bones of the vehicle leaves a weak spot that will shorten its lifespan, no matter how good the repair and respray. 

Damage aside, there’s another time that knowing the thickness is important for luxury car paint care—and that’s when it comes to applying paint protection film (PPF) and/or ceramic coating.

The Relationship Between Ceramic Coating and Paint Layers

Paintwork protection should only be applied over pristine (or almost pristine) paint. Whether it’s ceramic coating, PPF, or a combo of the two, if careful paintwork correction isn’t done, then the product will accentuate any anomalies

Professional detailing and correction involve very (very!) gentle sanding down of paint whirls, scratches, and marks. Knowing the paint thickness is essential to ensure nothing is stripped back too far. It’s a painstaking process that’s as important, if not more important, than the application of the paint protection product itself.

If you own a luxury car and are going to the expense of adding paintwork protection, then please, please ensure that your chosen provider doesn’t just use premium products, but that they pay just as much attention to the prep. (We’ve had to repair way too many examples of poor installations purely because of bad preparations.)

Priming a luxury car for paintwork protection care involves:

• Assessing the paint thickness across all the panels.
• Thoroughly washing the vehicle and using a mineral deposit remover.
• Clay barring.
• Meticulous paintwork correction where needed.
• Re-washing.
• Drying and polishing.

This should be done in a semi-sterile, indoor location to reduce dust and debris landing on the paintwork. Anything that’s on the surface when the product is applied will be sealed beneath it. If anyone tells you they can apply paint protection at your house or that they don’t have a dedicated workshop, then run… Run a mile…!

PPF and/or ceramic coating add to the paint layers, creating a fourth element that protects both the framework of the vehicle and the paintwork. When it comes to the additional thickness, PPF is typically between 7-10 mils, but ceramic coating is much less—around 0.5-1.5 mils.

This might seem really thin, but there are reasons for this. An overly thick application can cause issues with bonding and curing. Such a coating will be prone to chipping, peeling, and reduced longevity. It could also add unwanted bulk that could even alter those sexy curves and aesthetics. Professional ceramic coating installers will use the aforementioned paint thickness gauge to make sure the application is exactly the right thickness across the entire vehicle. Too thin is as bad as too thick, as this would reduce the protective capabilities of the coating.

OK, so we’ve probably rambled on enough… You’ve no doubt got the message about the correlation between paint thickness and the importance of a professional paint protection installation.

If you want to know more, head over to https://autosupershield.com/ or give us a call. We’ll happily drone on for hours about paint thickness and luxury car paint care, or just tell us to cut the c**p and give you a quote—we promise not to be offended…