a process for providing a substrate such as a polyethylene terephthalate container with a gas barrier coating of a copolymer of vinylidene chloride is disclosed . the process includes locating the container to be coated in close proximity to one or more airless spray nozzles and impacting the outside surface of the container with a stream of a stabilized aqueous polymer dispersion such as an aqueous polyvinylidene chloride dispersion . the impacting force of the stable polyvinylidene chloride dispersion on the surface of the container is sufficient to cause selective destabilization of the dispersion at the surface interface to form a gel layer containing the polymer in the continuous phase . this gel layer serves as an adhesive layer for an overlying layer of the aqueous polymer dispersion as a continuous uniform coating . the resulting wet coating does not sag or run off . the coating on the container is then dried in a controlled atmosphere to complete the gel formation throughout its thickness whereupon it is further dried to remove the water from the coating and to collapse the gel to form a film without distorting the container . the dried coating is smooth , uniform and uniformly transparent . in operation , the overspray can be collected and returned to achieve greater than 95 % material efficiency . the process can be carried out in a continuous manner to provide a continuously moving series of containers with a uniformly transparent , gas barrier polyvinylidene chloride coating at production rates suitable for commercial applications .