A coating hood for applying protective coatings to glass containers, includes a pair of spaced side walls; a supply of vaporized or atomized coating chemical in a carrier gas; a conveyor for transporting the glass containers to be coated longitudinally through the coating hood; a hood ceiling with a plurality of openings positioned at the level of the container finishes for supplying coating free air across the finish of the containers; the openings on one side of the containers are offset in the longitudinal direction of the hood with respect to the openings on the other side of the containers; each opening supplying an envelope of the coating free air across the finish of the containers such that lateral boundaries of the envelope of each opening on one side of the containers are substantially coincident with lateral boundaries of the envelopes of the offset and laterally adjacent openings on the other side of the containers; and a blower for supplying the coating free air to the openings. |