Method and fixture for evaluating the quality of surface coatings

A fixture and method for evaluating a surface coating on a specimen by determining the elongation at failure, which is carried out by conforming the specimen to a surface having a continuously and progressively varying radius of curvature to produce a range of elongations of said specimen sufficient to insure a coating failure. The radius of curvature increases in a predetermined, preferably linear relationship with the distance along the surface so that by measuring the distance to the maximum radius of curvature whereat of failure of the coating occurs, the minimum percent elongation creating failure is determined.