I was reading on a different thread (here PPF and Ceramic Coating ) that several folks seemed to agree that Mazdas have "thin" paint.
I am curious as to the basis for that assessment. Has anyone actually used a paint micrometer to measure the thickness of Mazda paint?
I was an automotive Sales Manager for many years, and one of the tools I used when appraising trades (and I have appraised hundreds of trades every year) was a Paint Mic.
We used it to see if any panels deviated from the other panels, since humans can't paint as evenly and as thinly as the factory robots do, and tend to go over most areas twice for coverage. When 6 panels on a car measured 3.5 to 4.5 mils and then the trunk lid measured 8, you knew that the trunk had been painted.
Most factories painted their cars between 3 and 6 mils, with the exception of some tri-coat paint jobs. Nissan had extremely thin paint, it wasn't unusual to see readings froom 1.0 to 1.5 mils on every panel. Many older Nissans had the hood and roof paint literally worn away by detailing; the primer coat would start to pop thru. It was really common until about 2015 when they started to put more material on their cars.
I never noticed this with any Mazda trades, although I worked mostly in high-line autos and probably have only appraised 30 or 40 Mazdas.
BTW, if you are curious, Paint Micrometers only work on ferrous and aluminum panels; they can't measure bumper paint, or Corvettes or Saturns with fiberglass or plastic body panels. In So Calif where I worked, I would guess that about 50% of used cars we sold had repainted bumpers, most of them repainted by the dealer.
I am curious as to the basis for that assessment. Has anyone actually used a paint micrometer to measure the thickness of Mazda paint?
I was an automotive Sales Manager for many years, and one of the tools I used when appraising trades (and I have appraised hundreds of trades every year) was a Paint Mic.
We used it to see if any panels deviated from the other panels, since humans can't paint as evenly and as thinly as the factory robots do, and tend to go over most areas twice for coverage. When 6 panels on a car measured 3.5 to 4.5 mils and then the trunk lid measured 8, you knew that the trunk had been painted.
Most factories painted their cars between 3 and 6 mils, with the exception of some tri-coat paint jobs. Nissan had extremely thin paint, it wasn't unusual to see readings froom 1.0 to 1.5 mils on every panel. Many older Nissans had the hood and roof paint literally worn away by detailing; the primer coat would start to pop thru. It was really common until about 2015 when they started to put more material on their cars.
I never noticed this with any Mazda trades, although I worked mostly in high-line autos and probably have only appraised 30 or 40 Mazdas.
BTW, if you are curious, Paint Micrometers only work on ferrous and aluminum panels; they can't measure bumper paint, or Corvettes or Saturns with fiberglass or plastic body panels. In So Calif where I worked, I would guess that about 50% of used cars we sold had repainted bumpers, most of them repainted by the dealer.
