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One of the key coating layers that inhibits corrosion on modern automobiles is the pretreatment film. This layer, which is typically a tri-cationic zinc phosphate material, provides both corrosion protection and enhanced paint adhesion to the base metal. Recent tightening of environmental regulations has made the use of this coating more difficult. In response to these pressures, pretreatment suppliers have been developing a new generation of metal pretreatments based on zirconium oxide. Characterization of these new materials is challenging as the zirconium oxide-based coatings are over ten times thinner than the current zinc phosphate coatings. Methods that are currently employed for studying zinc phosphate films such as coating weight determination by weighing, and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) are not sensitive enough to fully characterize these materials.