<p>The coatings industry is a billion-dollar industry consisting of architectural, protective and specialty chemicals that provide protection and aesthetics to diverse surfaces. Coatings are generally multi-layered with each layer of coating serving a specialized function. A primer coating is a preparatory undercoat that ensures effective adhesion between the substrate and the topcoat. The primer is reinforced with chemical functional groups that meet specific functions such as antifouling, anticorrosion or migration-barrier properties Current chemistries used to prepare primers industrially use harsh solvents and reaction conditions releasing volatile organic compounds and carcinogenic heavy metals but are convenient to apply, compatible with a wide range of surfaces and are competitive in price. Therefore, cost-effective primer pre-treatments that are eco-engineered for high performance are imperative. Sol-gel chemistry allows for the eco-synthesis of crosslinked hybrid organic-inorganic coatings, through controlled hydrolysis and condensation reactions with various inorganic or organic substrates to obtain varying hydrophobic-hydrophilic ratios, pore sizes and physical properties. Therefore, this review aims to critically (i) review the current approaches used to prepare industrially relevant primer coatings for functional structure-properties, (ii) evaluate the environmental impacts from their syntheses and (iii) provide insights from an industrial perspective for sol-gel derived, eco-engineered primer coatings.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>