Coating method for non-destructive examination of articles of manufacture

A method for non-destructive evaluation of an article of manufacture, the method comprising the following sequence of steps:

• coating a surface of the article with a temperature-sensitive coating;
• stimulating the article with an evaluation energy that preferentially generates heat in the article proximate a flaw therein, producing temperature-induced changes in the temperature-sensitive coating that visibly indicate the flaw in the article, wherein the evaluation energy is selected and controlled for evaluation of the article;
• evaluating the article via the temperature-induced changes in the temperature sensitive coating;
• conducting a repair on the article using the temperature-induced changes in the temperature-sensitive coating on the surface of the article as a guide for locating the repair;
• wherein:
• the coating step comprises applying the temperature-sensitive coating in a grid pattern at a particular scale on the surface;
• the evaluating step comprises evaluating the temperature-induced changes in conjunction with the grid pattern to determine a dimension of the flaw in the article;
• the coating step further comprises applying the grid pattern at a particular position on the surface;
• and
• the evaluating step further comprises evaluating the temperature-induced changes in conjunction with both the position and the scale of the grid pattern to determine a location and the dimension of the flaw.