Specifically, the most common use of industrial coatings is to prevent steel from corroding. A secondary common use is to make these materials more resistant to fire or other problems. Polymers are frequently used as an industrial coating. Some common polymers used as a coating include moisture cure urethane, epoxy, zinc rich epoxy, fluoropolymer, and polyurethane. Of course there are as many application processes as there are materials used as coatings, but the most common processes are airless and brush & roll application — both performed by Chaparral.

Functional coatings may be applied to change the surface properties of the substrate, such as adhesion, wettability, corrosion resistance, or wear resistance. In other cases, e.g. semiconductor device fabrication (where the substrate is a wafer), the coating adds a completely new property, such as a magnetic response or electrical conductivity, and forms an essential part of the finished product.