Does anyone know what the typical thickness is for current generation Porsches?

 

Mine was 3-5mm.

 

On my 996 it's between 100 and 120 micron...

 

I found this map for a 997 GT3 RS.

 

WOW...YIKES! I was at the dealership today and checked a pre-prepped 09 997TT. On the hood, the edges were as thin as 58 microns! Center of hood was 78 microns! Side fenders doors were 110-120 microns, and roof was 70-80 microns!

58 MICRONS! Gotta be careful with my Flex.

 

Typical 993-997 is about 100-130 microns or 3.7-4.8 mils. 27 microns = 1 mil FYI.

This helps a bit, but depending on the meter you have, it doesn't tell you how much clear you have to work with.

I usually use a gauge to check for repaint or if I know another detailer has machine polished prior to me, to get an idea of how much I have to work with.

What do you need the measurements for?

 

Moe...

I've been using the meter to track how much I'm taking off when I redo my cars...I didn't realize that an unprepped new 997TT was so thin!

 

Not many people really know how thick their paint is. That's why we don't machine polish every car that comes in our door. Depending on the how aggressive of product you're using, you're not really taking down that much clear. Only when sanding and compounding do you start removing substantial amount of material.

Over time, aggressive machine polishing will reduce the clear, reducing UV protection, and causing paint to fade. I firmly believe that cars should not be machine polished if cared for properly from day one. Now there are special circumstances where the factory doesn't finish the polishing correctly and you have no choice but to further polish the paint, but in most cases, cars leave the factory in really great shape.

I've got many clients that have never had their cars machine polished and the paint looks 90-95% swirl-free. It's as simple as using the right products and the right technique.