A coating applicator for a suspended cable comprises a housing defining a coating reservoir and having a roller rotatably mounted in said housing that is at least partly immersed in the coating reservoir. The coating roller includes a peripheral groove defined by tapered walls adapted to receive the cable therein. In one form of the invention, a pair of brackets support suspension rollers from opposite sides of the housing so that each suspension roller is spaced from the other and aligned over the groove in the coating roller from opposite sides of the cable. The housing includes a fluid coupling for connection with a conduit in fluid communication between the coating reservoir and a reversible pump which is in fluid communication with a supply reservoir, so that a predetermined level of fluid can be maintained in the coating reservoir and so that the coating can be drained from the reservoir when the coating operation is completed. A portion of the conduit can be rigid so that the rigid structure forms a handle for maneuvering the applicator. Another form of the invention comprises an open top housing which can be closed by a lid pivotally mounted to the housing. In such a housing, one or more spray nozzles can be used to discharge coating at extremely high pressure on the cable.