Recoating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of layering a fresh material on a surface to improve its visual or protective qualities involves applying a new coating over an existing one for enhancement or durability benefits
2. The act of placing an additional covering atop a previous layer to restore or enhance surface qualities
3. Adding a fresh protective or decorative film over an existing coat to renew the surface

Etymology: "Recoating" is simply the present participle and gerund of "recoat", which is built from the prefix "re-", meaning "again", attached to "coat". The verb therefore means to put a fresh layer of covering over something that already has one, such as repainting a wall or resurfacing a floor. The base word "coat" comes from the Old French "cote", a tunic or outer garment, and it carried that sense of a garment for centuries before it came to mean a covering layer on a surface. Because "re-" can be attached to almost any verb in English to signal repetition, "recoat" follows the same pattern as "repaint" or "redo", and "recoating" is simply its ongoing form.

Synonyms: reapplication, refinishing, repainting, renewal, repair