An apparatus and process are disclosed for scraping excess coating substance from a running web by moving the web past a scraper blade that is oriented transversely to the running direction of the web. The blade is pressed against the web with a variable force. A motor automatically moves the blade to maintain the angle between the scraping surface thereof and the web approximately constant when the force varies, preferably by rotating the blade about an axis which is located near the scraping surface, is transverse to the running direction of the web and extends generally parallel to the blade direction of extension across the web. The amount of movement of the blade that is necessary to maintain the angle constant is preferably determined by monitoring either the thickness of the coating on the web or the degree to which the force on the blade deforms the blade from an undeformed shape. The automatic system can preferably be disabled to permit the blade angle to be set at a selected value manually.