Description

Paint Inspection Gauge (PIG) manufactured by Stierand Prüfgeräte GmbH & Co, Germany and distributed in the UK by Elcometer Instruments Ltd of Manchester. Fitted black leather case and strap. Allen keys (4 No), two replacement cutters and a marker pen are provided in the case. The Allen keys are used to adjust the instrument and to open it for maintenance and battery replacement.

This a destructive coating thickness gauge featuring a heavy, rectangular handheld metal block—historically finished in a dark enamel which functions as a stable base when rested against a flat test surface. Mounted to the upper surface is an adjustable, cylindrical microscopic eyepiece containing an internal, graduated reticle scale used to gauge visually microscopic dimensions. The side features a precision tungsten carbide cutter which when dragged across a coated concrete sample slices a v-shaped notch through the protective layers down to the underlying concrete matrix. A laboratory technician looks through the microscope lens to measure the horizontal width of the exposed slope, mathematically calculating the exact vertical thickness of the coating.

This gauge was used in the Concrete Laboratory at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.