A coating apparatus for the serial coating of workpieces with different colours, comprising - an atomiser, which has an application member for the coating material; - a metering device (10, 20), particularly provided within or in the vicinity of the atomiser, upstream of the application member, with which the instantaneous quantity of the applied coating material is controllably adjustable during application; - a first group of several paint lines (13, 13'), which supply selectable coating materials with relatively frequently required different colours to the metering device (10,20) upstream of the application member, the outlet (11, A) of the metering device (10, 20) being shared by the coating materials coming from the paint lines (13, 13') of the first group; and - paint valves controlled by signals for the selection of coating materials from the paint lines (13, 13') of the first group; - the controlled paint valves of the first group of paint lines (13, 13') being arranged in the atomiser or fixedly attached to the atomiser so as to be movable therewith or arranged between the atomiser and a wrist joint or in a mobile arm of a program-controlled automatic motion machine moving the atomiser; - and a colour changer arranged at a distance from the atomiser being provided, which contains a plurality of paint valves, to each of which paint lines of a second group for coating material having less frequently required colours is connected, and the outlet of which shared by the paint lines of the second group - being connected in parallel to the paint lines (13, 13') of the first group to the metering device (10, 20) thereof or to a container of the metering device - or leading to the application member of the atomiser in parallel to the metering device (10, 20). - an atomiser, which has an application member for the coating material; - a metering device (10, 20), particularly provided within or in the vicinity of the atomiser, upstream of the application member, with which the instantaneous quantity of the applied coating material is controllably adjustable during application; - a first group of several paint lines (13, 13'), which supply selectable coating materials with relatively frequently required different colours to the metering device (10,20) upstream of the application member, the outlet (11, A) of the metering device (10, 20) being shared by the coating materials coming from the paint lines (13, 13') of the first group; and - paint valves controlled by signals for the selection of coating materials from the paint lines (13, 13') of the first group; - the controlled paint valves of the first group of paint lines (13, 13') being arranged in the atomiser or fixedly attached to the atomiser so as to be movable therewith or arranged between the atomiser and a wrist joint or in a mobile arm of a program-controlled automatic motion machine moving the atomiser; - and a colour changer arranged at a distance from the atomiser being provided, which contains a plurality of paint valves, to each of which paint lines of a second group for coating material having less frequently required colours is connected, and the outlet of which shared by the paint lines of the second group - being connected in parallel to the paint lines (13, 13') of the first group to the metering device (10, 20) thereof or to a container of the metering device - or leading to the application member of the atomiser in parallel to the metering device (10, 20).