Most of the modern instrumental methods are mainly applicable only in R&D work. It is shown that some of them could be also used in the field, proving very useful in solving practical corrosion problems. The use of the following methods for testing coatings and substrates are discussed: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), optical microscopy, Fourier transformation infrared analysis (FTIR), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).