This article reviews significant changes that have occurred within the technology of the coatings industry. Various modes of testing coatings are described, such as: chemical and electrochemical; gas chromatography; gel permeation chromatography; high-performance liquid chromatography; thin-layer chromatography; atomic absorption spectroscopy; infrared spectroscopy; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; surface analysis; ultraviolet visible spectroscopy; x-ray analysis; spectroscopy--miscellaneous; microscopy; particle size analysis; thermal methods; and, miscellaneous techniques.