Abstract: In accordance with the present application, a method and system is provided for measuring an amount of surface material on a wire. A section of the wire and a beam generating device configured to generate a high energy beam are placed in a positional relationship with each other. The relationship permits a high energy beam generated from the beam generating device to impinge upon a location on the section of the wire. A reflected beam from the high energy beam is reflected from the section of the wire and is detected by a detector positioned at a location to receive the reflected beam. The beam received by the detector is investigated to determine the characteristics of the surface material on the wire.