The best way to determine your paint thickness is to actually measure it. Companies like DeFelsko make gauges that can show an accurate picture of what you have to work with. The hardcore will measure an entire vehicle and have readout of how the vehicle is painted. Remember, that additional paint work might have been done at the dealership because of lot or transport damage. I will try find a good post that shows how the pros do it.

Here you go. Because my car is fiberglass, the Positector 300 Advanced is what I have to use. The cool thing about it is it will measure three different items on top of the fiberglass. That means I will know exactly how much base coat AND exactly how much clear coat is on my car, not just one total reading of everything.

$125 dollars for Ultimate Detailing Machine XP by Porter Cable Car Polisher
Porter Cable 7424 XP Dual Action Car Polisher Auto Buffer
Seems pretty affordable to me.

any thing you can find will be helpfull

I just posted a link above your post.

Thanks.
I also watched your videos with the technique too.

I dont see the 300 advance on there website. Did they replace it with the 200 series?

My bad, that was a typo. I meant the 200 B/advanced.

I looked at the prices on that unit. You spent a pretty penny on it?
Thats way out of my spending league.
Saw one place for 1.4k and one place for 2.6k
I rather throw down for stillens super charger.

It is not your average paint thickness gauge, nor is it a gauge for the weekend warrior. I touch a lot of Corvettes in my travels across the USA and I need me an ace in the hole so that I don't damage anyone's paint. That is my ace. I know exactly what I'm dealing with in one glance, which is very important if I am doing a advanced repair like wet sanding. Thus for me, you can see why it is a wise investment. In the name of safety, cost is NOT an issue.

Now where the heck did you find one for 1.4K???

After doing more searching i dont think i found the price on a advanced model like you have. I think i found like a basic with out any thing.

That's what I thought. Believe me, I searched HIGH AND LOW for a cheaper price. Man, I about passed out when I initially saw how much they cost!

Actually, you are incorrect. That OTC megs Ultimate Compound is pretty good for what it is. Is it 105? No. But it's as close as you're going to get when buying a product OTC.

If you're using a PC and just working on your car, a paint gauge is not needed.

When polishing your car using a PC you are taking VERY VERY VERY little of the clearcoat off (talking microns here). You really only NEED a paint gauge if you are attempting to wetsand or using a rotary with a decently aggressive pad/polish combo.

You and I are at two different levels of paint correction. If OTC products satisfy you, then great. I on the other hand choose to use a professional grade product and my results reflect that.

Again, you are looking at this from an amateur standpoint. Using a PC on a setting of 5 with 9-14 pounds of pressure in combination with a normal to light cutting polish and pad will not require a paint thickness gauge. Using a PC on a setting of 6 with massive pressure and a yellow pad containing 3M super duty cutting compound is another animal. It totally depends on your setup with the PC as to how dangerous or lenient it will be. Also, it is smart to know exactly how much clear AND paint is on the car before you get wicked aggressive with it. I more than cover these topics in my many video series. You should take a look at them.