Aqueous coating for protecting spray cabins from enamel overspray and process for producing it

A process for producing an aqueous and storage stable coating composition to protect spray booths against lacquer overspray, said coating composition being easy to remove from the treated surface with cold water after use, wherein, in a first step, 1 to 15% by weight of material selected from the group consisting of layer silicates, polyacrylates, carboxymethyl cellulose, and mixtures thereof, and, optionally, pigments, are mixed with water and exposed to a high shear gradient to produce a first intermediate mixture;

• then after at least two hours of swelling time there is added to this first intermediate mixture a second intermediate aqueous mixture, prepared in a separate step, the second intermediate mixture consisting of 1 to 40% by weight of pH regulator material that is selected from the group consisting of alkanol amines, alkali hydroxides, and mixtures thereof and of 5 to 80% by weight of material selected from the group consisting of C.sub.8 carboxylic acids, alkali metal salts of C.sub.8 carboxylic acids, and mixtures thereof, and, optionally, additives selected from the group consisting of hydrophobizing release agents, flow improvers, coloring pigments, and corrosion inhibitors, and the composition formed by mixing the second intermediate mixture into the first intermediate mixture is again exposed to a high shear gradient to produce the coating composition.