Composition and process for treating metal surfaces

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS OF APPLYING PHOSPHATE COATINGS ON METALS, WHEREIN SIMULTANEOUS CLEANING AND ACTIVATING ON THE SURFACES OF METALS FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF IRON, ZINC, CADMIUM, ALUMINUM AND ALLOYS IN WHICH THESE METALS PREDOMINATE IS EFFECTED TO ENHANCE THE SUBSEQUENT FORMATION OF PROTECTIVE PHOSPHATE COATING THEREON, THE STEP COMPRISING APPLYING TO THE METAL SURFACE A HOT AQUEOUS SOLUTION CONSISTING OF (A) BETWEEN 0.1% AND 10% BY WEIGHT OF THE DRIED RESIDUE OF AN ACTIVATING COMPOSITION DERIVED BY DISSOLVING IN WATER FROM 0.005% TO 20% BY WEIGHT OF A WATER SOLUBLE COMPOUND OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE GROIUP OF METALS CONSISTING OF TITANIUM. ZIRCONIUM, LEAD AND TIN AND THE BALANCE BEING DISODIUM ORTHOPHOSPHATE, AND EVAPORATING THE SOLUTION SO PRODUCED TO DRYNESS, (B) FROM 2% TO 50%, BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE DRIED RESIDUE, OF A WATER SOLUBLE IORGANIC ACID HAVING A CARBOCYL RADICAL ATTACHED DIRECTLY TO AN ALIPHATIC GROUP TO STABLIZE THE ACTIVATING COMPOSITION, (C) AN ALKALINE COMPOSITION SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKALINE ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS, AMMONIA SOAPS AND AMINE SOAPS SUITABLE FOR CLEANING METAL SURFACES, IN AN AMOUNT TO PROVIDE A PH OF FROM 10 TO 12.5 IN THE AQUEOUS COMPOSITION, AND THE BALANCE BEING WATER, THE AQUEOUS SOLUTION BEING AT A TEMPERTATURE OF BETWEEN 160*F. AND THE BOILING POINT, THE ORGANIC ACID ENABLING THE ACTIVATING COMPOSITION TO FUNCTION AT THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.