The purpose of this research is to determine if Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can be used to quantify incipient thermal damage (ITD) in aerospace composites. ITD is the early stages of thermal damage that cannot be detected by visual or ultrasonic methods but can lead to significant reductions in matrix-dominated properties of the composite. This project involves the detection of thermal damage with FTIR and performing a simulated repair guided by FTIR. The first task is the development of calibration curves for FTIR data on short-beam strength (SBS) samples with varying levels of ITD. This effort focuses on constructing calibration curves from SBS samples that have varying levels of ITD using an ExoScan FITR configured with diffuse reflectance. The SBS samples are 177 °C cure carbon fiber reinforced epoxy laminates that were carefully heat soaked to achieve uniform ITD in the samples. FTIR spectra and calibration curves relating the FTIR spectra to levels of ITD are reported and compared to previous results. These calibration curves will be used to guide mapping of thermal damage both on the surface and during the scarfing repair process with localized heat damage.