Don't make my mistake if your getting a paint thickness gauge

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

I recently bought a paint thickness gauge off Ebay. It takes a week or two to get these as they come from China. They run around $100-$120.

The model is 8801.

I was unaware they come in 3 different versions. Fe, which is designed for a steel or iron base.

Nfe, which is designed for an aluminum base (like the G5 Camaro has).

And the FN, which can measure both types.

If your only using it for your Camaro, the Nfe is your best choice.

If your using it for various cars, many older cars have sheet metal instead of aluminum, the FN is the best choice.

I guess will let you know which one I got.

Don't make my mistake.

[GVA 45TH 2SS]

The hood is aluminum, the rest of the car is steel.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by GVA 45TH 2SS

The hood is aluminum, the rest of the car is steel.

You need one that works on both......

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by GVA 45TH 2SS

The hood is aluminum, the rest of the car is steel.

The Fe gauge after calibration read 52 microns on the 50 micron shim, and 103 microns on the 100 shim. Well within range.

I didn't take a reading from the hood, but did both front quarters, both doors, and both rear. The average reading was over 400, which cannot be right. The steel must be some kind of "non-ferrous", or my car has 275 extra microns of paint?

I looked this up. Its constructed with 1 and 2 sided galvanized steel.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro SpecificationsLS/LTSSOverviewDrivelineFour-passenger, front-engine, rear-drive coupe

Construction Unitized body frame, one- and two-sided galvanized steel

And per the MFG of the 8801.

The Fe type is used for measurement of non- magnetic coatings of ferromagnetic substances. e.g., paint, porcelain, enamel, plastic, rubber, or electroplated coating of nonferrous metal like nickel-chromium, and anticorrosive coatings.

The Nfe is used for measurement of electrically non-conductive coatings on non-ferrous metals, e.g., paint, plastic coatings, and anodic oxide film on aircraft, car, home appliances, aluminum alloy products, and stainless steel.

Since the steel is galvanized, the zinc coating is designed to resist Iron that causes rust, that would make it non-ferrous (resists Iron), so the Nfe would be needed to get a proper reading because of it being galvanized.

If it were standard metal that had Iron in it's composition with no galvanized coating, the Fe would give the proper reading.

[GVA 45TH 2SS]

Non ferrous means there is no Iron in it. hence its not magnetic.
The zinc being non magnetic doesn't make the metal beneath it non ferrous.
Your gauge is reading the wrong base material, I think this is why you are having a hard time.
Take it and put it on a bare piece of steel and see what it gives for a reading. I'm sure it will read funky.

EDIT...
Rereading this post, you have the Fe gauge and its not reading correct? Maybe its just a cheep Chinese tool.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by GVA 45TH 2SS

Non ferrous means there is no Iron in it. hence its not magnetic.
The zinc being non magnetic doesn't make the metal beneath it non ferrous.
Your gauge is reading the wrong base material, I think this is why you are having a hard time.
Take it and put it on a bare piece of steel and see what it gives for a reading. I'm sure it will read funky.

EDIT...
Rereading this post, you have the Fe gauge and its not reading correct? Maybe its just a cheep Chinese tool.

The Fe gauge is designed for ferrous, or metals that contain iron.

The Nfe is for non-ferrous or metals that do not contain iron, or metal that is galvanized. This gauge does not recognize the galvanized metal as ferrous due to the zinc coating, it reads the depth of the primer, base, and clear.

The FN has the capability of recognizing which type of metal is beneath the paint, so can read both types.

It is a "made in China" gauge, but gives readings that are plus or minus 3% accurate. Their are gauges that read clear only, but they cost thousands of dollars.


I really don't know why they just don't make them all FN, I guess some people only need the 1 type for their application.

I just wanted this to get an average of the amount of clear on a panel before wetsanding or compounding my car, or someone else's I'm doing.
That way I'll know weather or not it's safe to do.

Most newer cars only have around 50 microns of clear / 125 microns total paint, which is very thin. If the dealer had a body shop go over an area that was damaged in transport, it's possible if they used a wool pad on a rotary for correction, that they removed a decent amount of clear, in this case I wouldn't wetsand, only compound, and if the readings showed that the area had an average below 100 total microns, I wouldn't do either as 1/2 the clear is already removed.

They actually give you a circular piece of bare metal to calibrate the gauge with to "zero" it out. After that they have shims, the measurements all came up within the 3% range, so I know it works properly, just won't work on my car due to the galvanized steel.

[GVA 45TH 2SS]

well Try it on a bare piece of metal and see if it reads 0

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by GVA 45TH 2SS

well Try it on a bare piece of metal and see if it reads 0

Yes I already did, it comes with a bare piece, of course this is a piece of ferrous metal, and it reads 0, then placed the 50 and 100 shims on top of it to calibrate per instructions.

It reads fine, only it won't read properly on my car due to galvanized steel and aluminum on the car, a G5 Camaro needs the Nfe option, which the gauge I have being designed for ferrous only ,(the Fe gauge) won't work on.

Basically the gauges work like this.

Fe - reads paint depth on ferrous metals. (This includes the primer, base, and clear) Hence the Fe for ferrous.
Nfe - reads paint depth on non-ferrous metals, and galvanized metals. Again all 3 layers. Hence the Nfe for non-ferrous.
FN - is able to detect which type of metal is under the paint, and read either one. Hence the name FN for ferrous and non-ferrous.

I didn't know this prior to purchasing. Seems like they would just make the FN and forget the other 2. I guess they have customers who only want the one type.

So again if your getting one of these for just your Camaro, the Nfe will work, however the FN doesn't cost any more than the Nfe, so you may as well just get it. I had a 66.7% chance of getting one that would work, and of course I got the 1 of 3 that doesn't!