Olds original paint thickness

[sixt9rsx33]

Can someone tell me how mils or millimeters the original paint should be on a 70 W30? Hood, doors, trunk, roof etc? Or just a range

Thanks

Lawrence

[Canuck]

Just did some vintage certification judging at MCACNon a 69 Hurst Olds and a 70 W31.
First off,hood can’t be gauged because it’s fiberglass. Paint ranges over the entire car extend to a low of 2.5 at the bottom of doors and quarters to 5.5 on flat panels like trunk and sides of roof and fender tops.
Keep in mind there were no robotics when there cars were painted new and there will be spray patern variances. A good example of this is at the ends of the quarter panels were we found depths of 7mm due to end of spray patern. As front clips were painted at Lansing separate from the body you may find inconsistencies between the front fenders and doors.
Additionally you will find the stripes fairly consistent but surprisingly not much thicker that the paint around them.

Paul Martin
Vintage Certification Team MCACN 2013 to present.

[sixt9rsx33]

Paul

Thanks for the info. So I need to be measuring in millimeters?

Thanks

[Canuck]

The paint depth guages will measure in mm.

[bluel78]

Fiberglass and urethane bumpers can be gauged with the newer gauges, similar to a sonogram. New vehicles with sensors in the bumper don’t work properly with excess paint and need to be gauged after being painted.

[L16pilot]

"A good example of this is at the ends of the quarter panels were we found depths of 7mm due to end of spray patern."

Just to offer some clarification...1 mil = .001"...or one-thousandth of an inch. Coating thickness is typically measured in mils which should not be confused with millimeters (mm). 7mm would be the equivalent of .276"...or more than 1/4".

However, I do agree with Paul's overall and I use 3.5-4.0 mils as a target nominal. Due to spray patterns, I've see upwards of 6 mils and anything over 6.0 mils is cause for further scrutiny.

[Canuck]

"A good example of this is at the ends of the quarter panels were we found depths of 7mm due to end of spray patern."

Just to offer some clarification...1 mil = .001"...or one-thousandth of an inch. Coating thickness is typically measured in mils which should not be confused with millimeters (mm). 7mm would be the equivalent of .276"...or more than 1/4".

However, I do agree with Paul's overall and I use 3.5-4.0 mils as a target nominal. Due to spray patterns, I've see upwards of 6 mils and anything over 6.0 mils is cause for further scrutiny.

Thanks for clarifying depth.

[Jonesy]

Great info guys!!

[L16pilot]

...as a post-script...I use 3.5-4.0 mils as a nominal for GM lacquer. Not sure what others use for enamel which I believe was used by FoMoCo and Chrysler during the 60s-70s. Would like to hear others chime in with experience on factory enamel paint thickness.

[ZiggyL78]

...as a post-script...I use 3.5-4.0 mils as a nominal for GM lacquer. Not sure what others use for enamel which I believe was used by FoMoCo and Chrysler during the 60s-70s. Would like to hear others chime in with experience on factory enamel paint thickness.

I thought Mopars and Fords were a lot thicker because of the brush strokes ;)

[sixt9rsx33]

This is what I found on my W30 with a cheap Amazon paint gauge:
Top 2-3 mils
Trunk 2-3 mils
Top of quarters 2-3 mils
Top of fenders 2-4 mils
Side of quarters 2-3 mils
Side of fenders 3-4 mils
Driver door 1-2 mils
Pass door 2-4 mils

[njsteve]

Is there a difference in paint thickness of different colors? Does it take more yellow paint to get color coverage on a car than if it was black paint?

[Kurt S]

Keep in mind there were no robotics when there cars were painted new and there will be spray patern variances.
Not quite true. No robotics, but the process was automated.

Body by Fisher video (https://youtu.be/yYgxgGlN8CM)
Note the oscillating paint heads at 20:50. There was no person spraying the bodies.

[firstgenaddict]

Not quite true. No robotics, but the process was automated.

Body by Fisher video (https://youtu.be/yYgxgGlN8CM)
Note the oscillating paint heads at 20:50. There was no person spraying the bodies.

The reciprocating rails show you that the guns don't tilt at the bottom of the rockers... NOTE THIS WHEN SPRAYING YOUR RESTORATION JOBS....