A laser ionization spectrometer designed for studying the atomization of metallic surfaces is presented. First experiments on polycrystalline nickel bombarded by 15 keV Ar+ ions are reported. The sputtered neutral atoms are selectively excited and ionized using resonance ionization spectroscopy. A comparison is made between the two step-one colour and the two step-two colour schemes. The influence of autoionizing states on the ionization process is discussed.