The gray points highly disperse on the alloy layer surface after free tin coating removed on poorly corrosion-resistant tinplate. The morphology and composition of normal area and the gray point were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) on the same tinplate sheet. Additional, the cyclic voltammetry results indicate that corrosion resistance of alloy layer containing gray points is less than that of normal area. Those indicate that gray points are defects of Sn-Fe alloy layer. AFM was applied to obtain detail information on topography change of the gray point in electrolyte. Furthermore, profile lines of the sample at varied time were determined and delivered additional arguments for corrosion rate of the gray point. The results of a single pit corrosion measurement show that corrosion rate is determined by a mass-transport controlled mechanism in acid electrolyte. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.