Knowledge base

What the paint hides — and how to see it

Coating thickness measurement taken apart piece by piece: how to inspect a body, what the numbers on the screen mean, and how the models differ. Written by the people who design and build these gauges.

Where to start

The three questions people start with

If there is no time to work through it all — here is the short way to an answer.

How do I tell whether a car has been resprayed?The order of the walk-around: where to start, where to measure and what counts as a find.Find out
What should the gauge be showing?Factory figures by make and panel — the numbers a reading is compared against.Find out
Which gauge fits my job?Four questions about how you work — and one model with a kit in the answer.Find out

Checking

Checking a car

How to inspect a body and not miss a repair: the order of the walk-around, where to measure and the figures to compare against.

How to spot a respray and filler with a thickness gaugeWhether a gauge tells a repair from thick lacquer, how filler shows up on the screen, and why the spread between neighbouring points matters more than a single figure.9 minSeptember 1, 2026Oleg Sumakovvehicle inspection expert, has been inspecting cars before purchase since 2018Read

Detecting galvanising: how to find a replaced panelWhy matching paint thickness does not mean the panel is original, and how a gauge finds a replacement by the factory zinc that is missing.8 minSeptember 1, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

Reading the numbers: what a thickness gauge should showWhat the number on the screen means, which values count as factory, and why comparing symmetrical panels matters more than any table of norms.9 minSeptember 1, 2026Oleg Sumakovvehicle inspection expert, has been inspecting cars before purchase since 2018Read

Rules for checking a car’s paintworkWhere to start, how many points to take per panel and why the roof comes first. The routine that keeps a respray from slipping past.7 minUpdated August 8, 2026Oleg Sumakovvehicle inspection expert, has been inspecting cars before purchase since 2018Read

Factory paint thickness by makeA reference of factory figures by make and panel. Something to compare a reading against — and something to answer the seller with.6 minUpdated August 8, 2026Oleg Sumakovvehicle inspection expert, has been inspecting cars before purchase since 2018Read

in the Instructions sectionMeasurement recommendationsHow to hold the gauge, where it will be wrong and how to check it against reference plates in a minute. For DPM-816 and AVTOPODBOR.12 minUpdated August 8, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

Features

Features and technology

What the gauge actually does inside, and why the number on its screen can be trusted.

CARSYS measurement technologyCombined sensor, spring-loaded probe, filler and zinc detectors — what each one gives you on a car body, not on a spec sheet.9 minUpdated August 8, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

The gauge display: why a monochrome LCD beats a colour screen in sunlightCars are inspected outdoors. Why a monochrome screen wins over TFT and OLED in bright sun, what it costs, and where colour still comes out ahead.7 minSeptember 9, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

in the Instructions sectionThickness gauge sensor typesUltrasonic, eddy-current, magneto-induction and Hall: what each one sees, where it fails and why CARSYS picks the combined one.11 minUpdated August 8, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

in the Instructions sectionReading adjustment: looking more precise than it isSome gauges repeat the previous reading instead of the new one. A two-minute test that exposes it — with an interactive detector.6 minUpdated August 8, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

Choosing

Choosing a gauge

How the models differ by the job they suit and by what they carry — and which one fits you.

A professional thickness gauge versus a budget oneSix checkable signs that separate an instrument from a gauge calling itself professional in a marketplace listing.10 minSeptember 1, 2026Vladimir Chuvakindevelopment engineer, has been developing thickness gauges for 18 yearsRead

Top 5 CARSYS gaugesFive gauges by the job: a check before buying, a car-picker’s day, a body shop, incoming inspection. With the kit of each explained.10 minUpdated August 8, 2026Oleg Sumakovvehicle inspection expert, has been inspecting cars before purchase since 2018Read

Find your gauge in four questionsFour questions about your job — and the answer is one model with a kit, not a list of nine.Updated August 31, 2026Oleg Sumakovvehicle inspection expert, has been inspecting cars before purchase since 2018Read

Metrology

Manufacturing and metrology

Warranty, verification, service and documents: what stands behind the gauge besides the gauge.

A state-verified thickness gauge for QC and laboratoriesThe industrial DPM-816 in the Russian State Register of Measuring Instruments: a passport with a primary verification mark, the verification procedure and specifications straight from the passport.8 minSeptember 1, 2026Tatiana Baroshevametrology engineer, responsible for gauge calibration and verificationRead

Warranty, verification and serviceTerms by product line, what verification gives you and when it is needed at all, how repairs are handled inside the country.8 minUpdated August 19, 2026Tatiana Baroshevametrology engineer, responsible for gauge calibration and verificationRead

Past the theory and on to the gauge?

Answer four questions about your job and we will match a model and a kit to it.

Find your gauge All thickness gauges