A metal product, such as a steel strip or a mill roll, is cooled by spraying a coolant towards a surface of the product travelling along a given path, by means of cooling apparatus comprising two hollow caissons arranged one inside the other and rigidly connected together to constitute a unit. The caissons cool the strip contained within a tunnel. The method is applied to the product surface and extends across the path of the product surface. Each caisson has a plurality of holes in a wall which is to face the product surface, each hole of the outer caisson being paired with a coaxially aligned hole of the inner caisson. A coolant sprayer is fixed in each pair of holes. Preferably, the sprayers are supplied with air from the inner caisson and water from the outer caisson, the water being atomized by the air. The path containing the prouduct is enclosed within a tunnel wherein ends of the tunnel are enclosed by continuous curtains of water which contact the product and effectively seal the ends of the tunnel.