Thermal spray coating involves certain precoating operations, such as cleaning, surface preparation, and masking, that are critical to the overall quality of the coating system. In addition to these, certain other elements are considered prior to the coating, namely, customer requirements, coating function, part geometry, substrate metallurgy, structure, and thermal history. This article provides a detailed account of the various processes of surface preparation, namely, cleaning, roughening, dry abrasive grit blasting, and machining and macro roughening processes. It outlines the masking and fixturing techniques and stripping of coatings.