Metal treatment

Claim 1

A process for increasing the corrosion resistance of a metal object bearing a pre-existing protective conversion coating, said process comprising steps of: (A) contacting the pre-existing coating with a composition having a pH from about 5 to about 12 and consisting essentially of: (1) water, (2) from 25-5000 ppm of triazole molecules selected from the group consisting of aryl triazoles containing from 6 to about 10 carbon atoms and alkyl triazoles containing from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, and, optionally, (3) at least partially substituted poly(vinylphenol) polymer or copolymer including substituents on at least some of the phenol rings that have a chemical structure according to one of the formulas: ##STR6## wherein each of R 5 through R 12 is selected from hydrogen, an alkyl, an aryl, an aryl, a hydroxy-alkyl, an amino-alkyl, a mercapto-alkyl, or a phospho-alkyl moiety, except that R 12 can also be --O.sup.(-1) or --OH and that at least one of R 9 and R 10 must include a polyhydroxy functionality resulting from the condensation of an amine or ammonia with a ketose, aldose, or other polyhydroxyl compound having from about 3 to about 8 carbon atoms, followed by reduction from imino to amino, and, optionally, (4) polar organic solvents; and (B) drying the object completion of step (A).