This International Standard specifies methods for measuring the thickness of metallic coatings by the use of X-ray spectrometric methods.

The measuring methods to which this International Standard applies are fundamentally those that determine the mass per unit area. Using a knowledge of the density of the coating material, the results of measurements can also be expressed as linear thickness of the coating.

The measuring methods permit simultaneous measurement of coating systems with up to three layers, or simultaneous measurement of thickness and compositions of layers with up to three components.

The practical measurement ranges of given coating materials are largely determined by the energy of the characteristic X-ray fluorescence to be analysed and by the acceptable measurement uncertainty and can differ depending upon the instrument system and operating procedure used.