Visual estimations are today the most common way to assess the surface quality of moulds and dies; a method that are both subjective and, with today’s high demands on surfaces, hardly usable to distinguish between the finest surface qualities. Instead a method based on non-contact 3D-surface texture analysis is suggested. Several types of tool steel samples, manually as well as machine polished, were analysed to study different types of surface defects such as pitting, orange peel and outwardly features. The classification of the defect structures serves as a catalogue where known defects are described. Suggestions of different levels of ‘high surface quality’ defined in numerical values adapted to high gloss polished tool steel surfaces are presented. The final goal is to develop a new manual that can work as a ‘standard’ for estimations of tool steel surfaces for steel producers, mould makers, polishers etc.