TL;DR
Dry film thickness is the measured depth of a coating after it has fully cured, expressed in mils (thousandths of an inch) and checked with a magnetic or ultrasonic gauge. Manufacturers publish a target — many exterior paints want 1.5 to 2 mils per coat, elastomerics 10 mils or more — because a film too thin fails early and too thick can crack or stay soft.
What it means
Dry film thickness is the measured depth of a coating after it has fully cured, expressed in mils (thousandths of an inch) and checked with a magnetic or ultrasonic gauge. Manufacturers publish a target — many exterior paints want 1.5 to 2 mils per coat, elastomerics 10 mils or more — because a film too thin fails early and too thick can crack or stay soft. Commercial painting specs often require recorded readings as proof the bid's coverage was actually applied.
Where it sits in the glossary
Dry film thickness is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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