Generally applicable techniques for surface analysis are described for prepared coating surfaces, with the recommendation that they be utilized prior to any fouling‐release field trials. The effectiveness of these techniques to predict nontoxic fouling‐release is supported by citation of results from the performance of commercial coatings in both seawater and freshwater environments, and comparison with standard reference materials. It is no longer necessary to rely on assumptions about the types of surfaces that will most easily allow physical release of accumulated biofouling, since the field results now show why analysing the surfaces in advance of their aqueous exposure gives important clues about their likely fouling performance. Written test protocols that do not include this level of surface inspection limit understanding and do not aid it, since ambiguities in fouling results are not otherwise traceable to characterized initial coating qualities.