Top-of-line corrosion (TLC) is a type of internal corrosion that affects the upper inner surfaces of pipelines due to water condensation caused by the temperature difference between the colder external environment and warmer internal environment. Extensive exploration of the critical parameters influencing the TLC rate has been progressively discussed. Among the parameters, water condensation rate (WCR) is considered as the key factor that affects TLC. However, droplet retention time (DRT) which is the residence time for droplet sticking to the surface has been found to influence the WCR, depending on the surface types. This re-search aims to study the effect of steel surface profile to DRT and TLC rate. Two types of surface profile were used to evaluate the effect of surface roughness on DRT, freshly grind and pre-corroded sample to simulate smooth and rough surface respectively. Results show that pre-corroded samples displayed higher DRT as compared to freshly grind sample. The presence of corrosion product increases the surface roughness which affects the residence time of droplets on the metal surface. This correlates to less water droplets collected at given period at high DRT, resulting in lower WCR and TLC rate.