Release agents are applied as a liquid that forms a thin film coating to aid removal of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) parts from a mold or peel ply. This process, however, leads to inevitable contact transfer, causing release agent to remain on the part or repair. Before painting or bonding of the CFRP component to other structures, proper post-treatment to remove vaporizable components of the release agent is required. Improper or inadequate post-treatment leads directly to reduction of bond strength of joined parts or topcoat paint adhesion. The complexity of CFRP systems requires the use of new nondestructive analysis technologies such as FTIR spectroscopy, for the analysis of the surface matrix of the material. The primary objective of this application note is to demonstrate that FTIR spectroscopy can nondestructively measure the level of release agent on a carbon fiber epoxy system before bonding. The analysis uses an Agilent 4100 ExoScan FTIR. This handheld spectrometer enables in-situ inspection during manufacturing, in-service, or repair environments, or ex-situ in a laboratory. The analysis is accomplished in less than 1 minute and does not require any sample pretreatment. This work was part of a joint project commissioned by the European Union entitled ENCOMB (extended nondestructive testing of composite bonds) [1].