We studied the wetting behavior of thin oil films on quartz and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates before and after being coated with a polymer colloidal dispersion. The triolein oil was doped with a trace of a fluorescent dye, and the films were prepared by casting a dilute solution of dyed triolein in acetone onto the substrates. The films were then observed by laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy (LSCFM). On quartz, triolein breaks up into approximately spherical, micrometer-sized droplets as the acetone evaporates. The oil droplets were coated with a water dispersion of a film-forming latex dispersion of poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA). Most of the droplets adhered to the quartz substrate as the water evaporates. With LSCFM, we could image the triolein droplets under the transparent polymer latex film. These had larger volumes than those formed in air, and their micro-contact angle increased from 〈θ〉 = (32 ± 5)° at the quartz−air interface to 〈θ〉 = (71 ± 4)° at the quartz−PBMA interface. When deposited on PET, the triolein wets the substrate surface and forms an almost homogeneous film. Upon coating with a PBMA latex film, we observed some dewetting of the oil from the PET substrate, and the micro-contact angle of the oil increased from 〈θ〉 = (8 ± 4)° at the PET−air interface to 〈θ〉 = (18 ± 5)° at the PET−PBMA interface.