Have a line on a car that interests me, can I get a few paint meter readings to use to verify this car when I see/inspect in person ?!?

Many thanks in advance...

 

What would you do with that information?

 

Try to tell if it was repainted/repaired most likely. If the paint meter reads different in one panel, then that panel has likely been repaired.

If I was you, I'd contact a good detailer out in your neck of the woods and see if they'll give it a run over with a meter. They might remember what factory meter readings should be as well, so you could tell if the whole car was repainted or something. Of course there should be evidence of that somewhere, but that's another story.

 

detect variance indicative of "other than factory" paint, where there may have been prior damage and such that has been repaired and subsequently re-painted.

 

A detailer with a meter?

Round here, most dealers think that's NASA technology.
Most detailers are lucky to have a microfiber towel. Yes, I know there are exceptions, you good guys, don't take offense.

I think a BS would be a tough one, as I imagine that even the factory had a tough time getting all those panels to line up and have proper clear. And like most late model Benz cars, there a bunch of it that's plastic. So you'll need a guy with a good enough meter to run Fe and plastic.

Good on you for checking it.

 

I thought the Black Series cars had a lot of Carbon Fiber pieces too. But factory paint should be reasonably similar, at least among pieces of the same materials. A few microns difference between panels is acceptable, these cars are all painted by computer and so should be relatively similar in paint thickness.

You need to find yourself some real detailers . There's a nice detailing outfit out of GA, I think it's peach state detailing or something along those lines.

 

I don't think that the BS had carbon panels. It did have the carbon venturi channels, though. Damage to those would be obvious. But, you're likely more concerned with the metal panels, anyway.

I had to take my RS6 to a body shop, as they were the only ones who had a meter. Worse, the RS6 uses Aluminum front quarter panels, so they needed two meters.

CW

 

I responded to your PM but I'll post here too.

I sold a 1400 mile 928 to a guy in Germany last fall and borrowed a paint meter from a buddy who owns Import Paint and Body in Charlotte to verify that the paint was original on the 928.

While I had it, I put it on my other cars out of curiousity mostly....

The CLK doesn't have carbon fiber panels but it does have some carbon fiber accent pieces like the trunk spoiler, rear defuser and front fender vents. The front fenders are a composite so you won't be able to read the paint thickness on them. I don't remember if the trunk lid is a composite also......

You will be able to read the paint thickness on the rest of the car. I also don't remember if any panels are aluminum but the meter I had also read on aluminum b/c of the aluminum panels on the 928. Paint readings should be between 4.5 to 7 mils (sometimes 8+ depending on where the reading is taken) if it's original. If you get readings of 9-10+ mils, chances are it's had some paintwork. There are instances of damage in transit between Germany and the final destination which are repaired at port OR panels that get another coat of paint/clearcoat at the factory to repair some imperfection. In any case this will happen b/f the car ever gets sold to it's first owner so paint meter readings can sometimes be misleading but are usually a good indicator.

 

Good to know, I think I was either thinking that the composite pieces = carbon fiber pieces, or maybe I'm confusing it with the SL65 Black. I dunno.

 

perfect, thanks a ton Chuck...