Found a crazy stat about paint thickness in old car manuals

Was cleaning out the shop office last week. Found a stack of original owner's manuals from the 70s and 80s. Flipping through a 1978 Chevy truck manual, there's a section on paint care. It actually lists the factory paint thickness. Says it's between 4 and 6 mils total. That's primer and color combined. I was shocked. We routinely put down 8 to 10 mils of just clear coat now. The whole finish was half as thick as our modern clear. Explains why those old single-stage paints wore through so fast on hoods and roofs. Found it wild they printed that spec for regular owners. Makes you think about how much the materials and expectations have changed. Anyone else stumble on old info that made a light bulb go off?

3 comments

3 Comments

josephmartin14d ago

Man, that is NUTS. My buddy bought a barn-find '82 Blazer last year, and the paint was just dust on the roof. We measured it, and it was barely there. Totally lines up with your manual find. It really makes you think about what @the_faith said, because that thin paint is probably just... gone, back to dirt by now. We put so much thick plastic armor on cars today, and that stuff is never going away. Kind of a wild trade-off for having a shine that lasts ten years.

young.kim15d ago

Honestly that's wild they even told people that back then. Tbh it makes sense why the paint on my dad's old Ford was basically gone on the hood. We really do expect a lot more durability now.

the_faith14d ago

Wow, that makes me wonder if the old paint formulas were actually better for the environment! Less durable might mean it broke down easier in a junkyard, while today's super-tough coatings could leave more permanent microplastics.