This Application Note describes the use of the different sampling modes and automation features of the Spotlight™ 200i IR microscope system applied to an automobile paint chip sample retrieved from the roadside at the scene of a road traffic accident. There are three main sampling techniques for infrared spectroscopy of solid samples: transmission, (specular) reflectance, and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR). All of these sampling techniques can be applied to standard (macro) IR accessories as well as IR microscopes for microsamples. Each of these techniques has been applied to this sample on the IR microscope and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each are described.