The surface integral equation approach and the hybrid surface-volume integral equation approach are compared for solving the problem of electromagnetic scattering by conducting objects with dielectric coating. The surface integral equation is formulated by the PMCHW method, and it is efficient for modeling bulk material scattering. The hybrid surface-volume integral equation approach is better conditioned for the volume scattering problems. For a special class of problems in which the dielectric coating is electrically thin (one to two grid sizes), the numbers of unknowns needed by the two approaches are of the same order, and the surface-volume integral equation approach converges significantly faster than the pure surface integral equation approach. Several numerical examples are given, and the results showed good agreements with the above statement.