In some applications, the resultant thickness of a coating (e.g., a paint) that is applied to a substrate (e.g., the surface of a metal substrate) by a user may be critical, or at least important, to provide desired performance (e.g., proper protection of the substrate). For example, achieving a specified thickness of an applied coating may be critical to preventing corrosion of a metal substrate used in marine applications. Self-inspecting coatings are used in applications such as, for example, marine applications and oil and gas pipeline applications. A self-inspecting coating often includes a coating (e.g. liquid or powder) that provides a visual indication (e.g., visible or invisible to naked eyes) of coating properties (such as thickness). As an example, the visual indication of the coating properties may be provided as the coating is applied or after the coating is applied. For example, a color of the coating can change as the applied thickness changes, in accordance with an embodiment. In this manner, a user is able to perform a certain level of self-inspecting as the user applies the coating. That is, the user may visually observe the color of the coating as it is applied to the substrate in an attempt to determine if the thickness is correct. However, the ability of a user to discern variations in color (and, therefore, variations in the coating film) by observing the coating with the naked eye is limited.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.