Protective coatings are a good option to protect the NBR covered hoses from things like abrasion, hot embers and pickup of extra water and other fluids like oils or hazardous materials. The coatings typically give the hose its color as well.

If you desire colored hose, it will likely come with coating and add some extra cost.

Colored yarn is also used to create tracer stripes in some models of hose, so that different colored stripes can indicate the different hose diameters or be used to color code the hose in a system of the end user's preference. When specifying colored hose with a different colored stripe, remember that the color coating applied after the hose is woven will change the tint of the woven tracer stripe.