Residual stresses are routinely calculated in polycrystalline materials from the residual strains determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Using XRD to determine residual stresses is a well-established technique, however it cannot be used for single crystals. This investigation develops a technique that readily monitors residual deformation profiles in single crystals. The technique is of particular interest to the aerospace industry as it enables the effectiveness of shot-peening single crystal turbine blades to be monitored.Electron Back-Scattered Patterns (EBSPs) can readily be obtained from electropolished single crystals using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in spot mode. EBSPs from cold worked metals will be of poorer quality than EBSPs from undeformed metal. Likewise the EBSPs obtained from an electropolished section cut perpendicular to a shot-peened surface will show an increase in image quality with increasing distance from the worked surface (Fig. 1). This trend could easily be monitored in single crystals by quantifying the image quality of the associated EBSPs using orientation imaging microscopy (OIM).