ISO 14577-4:2016规定了一种测试涂层的方法，该方法特别适用于薄涂层纳米/微米范围内的测试。然而，如果压痕深度是涂层厚度的一小部分，因此在任何可能的情况下都可以忽略基底影响，并且可以将涂层视为散装材料，则不需要使用ISO 14577本部分的该方法。给出了此类情况的限制。 当压痕垂直于试件表面进行时，本试验方法仅限于检查单层，但如果单个层或梯度的厚度大于压痕过程的空间分辨率，也可以在横截面上测量梯度和多层涂层。 试验方法不限于任何特定类型的材料。金属和非金属涂层包括在ISO 14577本部分的范围内。 在ISO 14577的这一部分中，术语“涂层”指的是具有与其连接的基材不同的均匀特性的任何固体层。该方法假设涂层性能随压痕深度而变化。如果结构尺寸小于压痕尺寸，则认为复合涂层均匀。 只有当压头是棱锥体或圆锥体，其尖端曲率半径小到足以在涂层内发生塑性变形时，才可能应用ISO 14577中有关压痕硬度测量的本部分。粘弹性材料或表现出显著蠕变的材料的硬度将受到试验时间的强烈影响。

ISO 14577-4:2016 specifies a method for testing coatings which is particularly suitable for testing in the nano/micro range applicable to thin coatings. However, the application of this method of this part of ISO 14577 is not needed if the indentation depth is such a small fraction of the coating thickness that in any possible case a substrate influence can be neglected and the coating can be considered as a bulk material. Limits for such cases are given. This test method is limited to the examination of single layers when the indentation is carried out normal to the test piece surface, but graded and multilayer coatings can also be measured in cross-section if the thickness of the individual layers or gradations is greater than the spatial resolution of the indentation process. The test method is not limited to any particular type of material. Metallic and non-metallic coatings are included in the scope of this part of ISO 14577. In this part of ISO 14577, the term coating is used to refer to any solid layer with homogeneous properties different to that of a substrate it is connected to. The method assumes that coating properties are constant with indentation depth. Composite coatings are considered to be homogenous if the structure size is less than the indentation size. The application of this part of ISO 14577 regarding measurement of indentation hardness is only possible if the indenter is a pyramid or a cone with a radius of tip curvature small enough for plastic deformation to occur within the coating. The hardness of visco-elastic materials or materials exhibiting significant creep will be strongly affected by the time taken to perform the test.