Chevrolet Equinox Service Manual: Paint Gauges Gauges

Paint thickness gauges measure the total thickness of thevehicle finish. It is important to accurately measure the thicknessof the finish on each vehicle as the thickness of the finish willvary on each vehicle. Use a paint gauge before the sanding processin order to accurately measure how much finish there is to removebefore, during, and after the sanding process. Paint gauges rangefrom magnetic pull type to sophisticated electronic types, and areavailable from a variety of sources. The older magnetic typegauges, at best have a 5-percent accuracy range and arenot sensitive enough to detect removal of 0.02-mm0.5-mil (0.0005-in) clearcoat. The newer typemagnetic gauges have improved accuracy ranges. Most gauges areconfined to checking either ferrous metal, steel, non-ferrousmetal, or aluminum panel. At this time, there are no viable gaugesfor reading film thickness on composite (SCM doors, RIM fenders)panels. The more sophisticated (ETG) electronic paint thicknessgauges digital type gauges are able to read film thickness on bothferrous and non-ferrous metal panel. Digital ETG gauges may have anaccuracy range of 1-percent and include thicknessstandards for recalibration. The following paint thickness gaugesare available. Call 1-800-GM-TOOLS for information:

Paint Thickness Gauges147-5437-ETG Standard model147-5437-ETG-P Standard model with print option147-5437-N-ETG-N Non-ferrous model for aluminum panels147-5437-NP-ETG-NP Non-ferrous model with print option147-54437-SD-ETG Steel and aluminum gauge