The process of film formation and the degree to which the formed films attain their optimum properties is investigated. The film formation process was followed using several properties of the materials including resistivity, weight loss and spectroscopy. Dynamic thickness measurements were made on the forming films using a laser profilometer and it is reported that during the process of sintering, the film thickness decreases much quicker than would be expected from the weight loss profiles. The degree to which the films form is examined utilising the materials' known susceptibility to water ingress and atomic force microscopy is demonstrated as potentially a very useful tool for the assessment of the formed films.