A system and method of detecting, quantifying, and characterizing corrosion and degradation of an article, includes receiving signals indicative of a stack of images of a surface of the article; determining depth and nature of features in the stack of images; generating a surface model of the article in response to the determination of the depth and the nature of features; determining features of interest from the surface model; comparing the features of interest with predetermined information on the article; and characterizing the article as corroded or degraded in response to the comparisons of the features of interest.