Indirect charging electrostatic coating apparatus

Electrostatic coating apparatus including apparatus for establishing an electrostatic field for indirectly charging atomized droplets of paint or other coating material discharged from an atomizer. A flexible tube is formed into an annulus and is positioned coaxially with the atomizer. Pins extend through the tube and have short ends which project towards a workpiece to be coated. The tube is formed from an insulating outer layer and a semi-conducting inner layer having a high distributed resistance. The pins extend through the inner layer which is connected through a large resistance to a high voltage power supply. The apparatus is particularly useful for charging electrically conductive and semi-conductive materials delivered to the atomizer from a grounded source.