Optical coatings are nowadays broadly used in automotive and architectural glazings, displays, etc. When applied to the outside of laminated glass panels or on single glass sheets the coatings are subject to abrasive processes like cleaning and dusty or sandy circumstances. A high mechanical stability is therefore required under various environmental loads in life cycle. In this work, scratch tests have been carried out for antimony doped tin oxide film (SnO(2):Sb) on glass and silicon oxide film NOD on polycarbonate to analyze the impact of film thickness on the scratch resistance. In addition to that, the taber test is used for the analysis of SiO(2) on polycarbonate. Simulations of the experimental set-up based on a finite element model are developed in order to investigate the elasto-plastic behaviour of the coating and substrate. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.