Primer is designed to make the panel uniform so as to allow the paint colour to be evenly applied to it. The first layer applied to the metal panel of a vehicle is primer. You may find the thickness varies by 2 microns (µm) or more! Therefore it is important to take depth measurements, both when the panels are cold and when they are hot. However, it should be noted that paintwork has a degree of elasticity, allowing it to swell or shrink according to the environmental temperature being experienced by the vehicle. This allows you to determine the combined thickness of primer, paint and clear coat and, using a rough guide as to the general thicknesses of these individual layers you will be able to ascertain how much clear coat is available to make the correction. Prior to tackling any blemishes, it is vital to take multiple readings of the paint thickness using a Paint Depth Gauge. The most common paintwork imperfections occur as swirl marks, deep marring and scratches (usually introduced during the wash process), etching caused by acid rain and calcium carbonate deposits from environmental and industrial fallout, as well as buffer marks resulting from poor machine polishing techniques! These defects can best be seen using high output specialist lighting equipment such the colour match range from SCANGRIP. It’s comprised of three layers: Primer, Base Colour Coat and Clear Coat (lacquer). The thickness of the paint you see on your car is measured in microns (µm), 1 micron is equivalent to one thousandth of a millimetre (1/1000mm). How much is being removed each time the paint correction process is undertaken? But how much is commonly known about the process behind paint correction and the science behind paint application technology?Ībsolutely paramount to the whole procedure is understanding paint, its composition, its thickness and ultimately knowing how much you have to play with. Machine polishing is a recognised method of paint correction for professionals and a growing number of amateur enthusiasts are also taking up the handle. Paintwork defects such as scratches, swirls and holograms are all removable by machine polishing.

Car paint color machine