Thin films (150 nm) of an amorphous polyester (polyethylene(terephthalate-isophthalate)) containing variable concentrations of an antioxidant (Irgafos(TM) 168) and a UV-stabilizer (Hostavin(TM) N30) have been prepared by spin-coating. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) results showed, in the case of a single additive system (antioxidant), that the additive intensity increased on the polymer surface during the first five aging days (exudation phenomenon), followed by an intensity decrease, which was related to the adsorption of hydrocarbon contaminations on the sample surface. This kinetic competition was observed whatever the used additive concentration. In the case of the binary additive system (antioxidant and UV-stabilizer), the antioxidant behavior was similar to the single additive system, whereas, the UV-stabilizer evolution corresponded to an additive depletion, followed by an exudation. These results indicate that it is necessary to be very careful when comparing ToF-SIMS data for additive quantification on polymer surfaces. It is strongly recommended to compare samples having the same aging time, because the surface composition was seen to be strongly dependent of the aging time. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.