Corrosion-resistant coated metal strip

• US 5,616,424 A
• Filed: 11/01/1995
• Issued: 04/01/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Revere Copper Products, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The Louis Berkman Company
• Inventors: Zamanzadeh, Mehrooz, Carey, Jay F. II
• Primary Examiner(s): ZIMMERMAN, JOHN J
• Application Number:
  US08/551,456
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• Field of Search: 428/646, 428/647, 428/648, 428/659, 428/658, 428/685, 428/650, 428/674, 428/935, 428/939
• US Class Current: 428/647
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 15/18 comprising iron or steel B32B15/011, B32B15/012 and B32B15/013 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/0034 Details related to elements immersed in bath
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/00344 Means for moving substrates, e.g. immersed rollers or immersed bearings
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/0035 Means for continuously moving substrate through, into or out of the bath C23C2/00344 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/0036 Crucibles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/0038 characterised by the pre-treatment chambers located immediately upstream of the bath or occurring locally before the dipping process
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/022 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/024 by cleaning or etching
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/026 Deposition of sublayers, e.g. adhesion layers or pre-applied alloying elements or corrosion protection
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 2/08 Tin or alloys based thereon
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/021 including at least one metal alloy layer
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/025 with at least one zinc-based layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/939 Molten or fused coating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12708 Sn-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12715 Next to Group IB metal-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12722 Next to Group VIII metal-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12792 Zn-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12799 Next to Fe-base component [e.g., galvanized]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12806 Refractory [Group IVB, VB, or VIB] metal-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12847 Cr-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12854 : Next to Co-, Fe-, or Ni-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12903 : Cu-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1291 : Next to Co-, Cu-, or Ni-base component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12979 : Containing more than 10% nonferrous elements [e.g., high alloy, stainless]

Abstract

A corrosion-resistant metal strip and method for making the same which is essentially lead free and is not highly reflective. The coating on the metal strip is a metallic coating comprised of tin and a very low weight percentage of lead. The coating alloy may also include antimony, bismuth, copper, zinc to improve the coating process and/or improve the properties of the tin coating. A metal layer may also applied to the surface of the metal strip prior to applying the metallic alloy coating.

Claims

1. A coated metal strip made of a metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, tin, bronze and titanium, said metal strip having a thickness of up to about 0.2 inch and supplied from a coil of metal strip and coating said metal strip by continuously passing said metal strip in a longitudinal direction at a speed through a molten bath of a corrosion-resistant alloy having a temperature of at least about 449°

F. such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is at least about 0.083 minute to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming an intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said layer having a substantially uniform thickness of at least 0.0001 inch along the longitudinal length of said metal strip, said intermetallic layer having a thickness of at least about 1 micron and comprising a heat created interface alloy created from a mixture of said metal strip and corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising at least about 75 weight percent tin, up to about 0.5 weight percent lead and a metal additive selected from the group consisting of a metal stabilizer, a coloring agent, a corrosion-resistant agent and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper and mixtures thereof, said corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, titanium and mixtures thereof, and said coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper.

2. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, wherein said strip is stainless steel.

3. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 2, wherein said lead content is at least about 0.001 weight percent.

4. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 3, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

5. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 4, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 90% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

6. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, wherein said strip is copper.

7. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 6, wherein said lead content is at least about 0.001 weight percent.

8. A coated strip as defined in claim 7, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, maganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

9. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 8, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 90% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

10. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, wherein said strip is carbon steel.

11. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 10, wherein said lead content is at least about 0.001 weight percent.

12. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 11, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

13. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 12, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 90% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

14. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, wherein said lead content is at least about 0.001 weight percent.

15. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 14, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, maganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

16. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 15, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 90% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

17. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, maganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

18. A coated strip as defined in claim 17, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 90% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

19. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 18, wherein said tin content is at least about 95 percent.

20. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 18, including a metal layer applied to said metal strip surface prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

21. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 20, wherein said metal layer is selected from the group consisting of chromium, copper, nickel or tin.

22. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 21, wherein said metal layer is copper.

23. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 21, wherein said metal layer has a thickness of about 1-10 microns.

24. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 23, wherein said tin content is at least about 95 weight percent.

25. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, including a metal layer applied to said metal strip surface prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

26. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 25, wherein said metal layer has a thickness of at least about 1 micron.

27. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 25, wherein said metal layer is selected from the group consisting of chromium, copper, nickel or tin.

28. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 1, wherein said tin content is at least about 95 percent.

29. A coated metal strip made of a metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, tin, bronze and titanium, said metal having a thickness of about 0.005 to about 0.2 inch and supplied from a coil of metal strip and coating said metal strip by continuously passing said metal strip in a longitudinal direction at a speed of about 1 to about 400 ft/min. through a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy having a temperature of about 449°

to about 1000°

F. such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is about 0.083 to about 10 minutes to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming an intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said said layer having a substantially uniform thickness of about 0.0001 to about 0.05 inch along the longitudinal length of said metal strip, said intermetallic layer having a thickness of about 1 to about 10 microns and comprising a heat created interface alloy created from a mixture of said metal strip and corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising at least about 95 weight percent tin, about 0.001 to about 0.5 weight percent lead and a metal additive selected from the group consisting of a metal stabilizer, a coloring agent, a corrosion-resistant agent and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper and mixtures thereof, said corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, titanium and mixtures thereof, and said coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper.

30. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 29, wherein said strip is stainless steel.

31. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 30, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

32. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 31, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 95% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

33. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 32, including a metal layer applied to said metal strip surface prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

34. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 29, wherein said strip is copper.

35. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 34, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

36. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 35, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 95% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

37. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 36, including a metal layer applied to said metal strip surface prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

38. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 29, wherein said coating including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

39. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 38, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 95% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.001-0.5% Iron 0.0-1% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7% ______________________________________

40. A coated metal strip having a thickness of 0.005 to about 0.2 inch and supplied from a coil of metal strip and coating said metal strip by continuously passing said metal strip in a longitudinal direction at a speed through a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy having a temperature of at least about 449°

F. such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is about 0.083 to about 10 minutes to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming an intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy having a substantially uniform thickness of at least about 0.0001 inch along the longitudinal length of said metal strip, said intermetallic layer having a thickness of about 1 to about 10 microns and comprising a heat created interface alloy created from a mixture of said metal strip and said corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising zinc, tin and a metal additive, said zinc content greater than about 10 weight percent, said tin content plus said zinc content at least about 75 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said metal additive selected from the group consisting of a metal stabilizer, a coloring agent, a corrosion-resistant agent and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper and mixtures thereof, said corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium and mixtures thereof, and said coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper.

41. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, wherein said strip is stainless steel.

42. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, wherein said strip is copper.

43. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, wherein said strip is carbon steel.

44. A coated metal as defined in claim 40, wherein said tin content plus zinc content at least about 80 weight percent.

45. A coated metal as defined in claim 40, wherein said tin content plus zinc content at least about 90 weight percent.

46. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, wherein said coating comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin 15-90% Zinc 10-85% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead 0.0-0.5% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% ______________________________________

47. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, including a metal layer applied to said metal strip surface prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

48. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, wherein said metal layer has a thickness of at least about 1 micron.

49. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 40, wherein said metal layer is selected from a group consisting of chromium, copper, nickel or tin.

50. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip made of a metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, tin, bronze and titanium, said metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy including a majority of tin, lead and a metal additive selected from the group consisting of a stabilizing agent, a coloring agent, a corrosion-resistant agent and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper and mixtures thereof for inhibiting crystallization of said tin, said corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, titanium and mixtures thereof for enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

55. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said metal of said metal strip is stainless steel.

56. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said metal of said metal strip is copper.

57. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said tin is at least about 75 weight percent of said alloy.

58. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin at least about 90% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony 0.0-7.5% Bismuth 0.0-1.7% Copper 0.0-5% Lead up to 0.5% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-7%. ______________________________________

59. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin 90-99.95% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony and/or 0.0-0.5% Bismuth Copper 0.0-1% Iron 0.0-1% Lead up to 0.05% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-1.5%. ______________________________________

60. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy comprises:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin 90-99.95% Aluminum 0.0-5% Antimony, Bismuth 0.005-0.5% and/or Copper Lead up to 0.01% Magnesium 0.0-5% Nickel 0.0-5% Titanium 0.0-1% Zinc 0.0-0.5% Iron 0.0-1%. ______________________________________

61. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.01 to about 2.7 weight percent copper.

62. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.1 to about 1.6 weight percent copper.

63. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 1.0 to about 1.5 weight percent copper.

64. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.3 to about 1.0 weight percent nickel.

65. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.7 weight percent nickel.

66. The method as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.1 to about 1.0 weight percent magnesium.

67. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.1 to about 0.4 weight percent magnesium.

68. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.01 to about 1.0 weight percent titanium.

69. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.5 weight percent titanium.

70. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.15 weight percent titanium.

71. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 1.0 weight percent aluminum.

72. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.5 weight percent aluminum.

73. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.3 weight percent aluminum.

74. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, including the step of applying an intermediate metal layer to said exposed surface of said metal strip prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

75. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 74, wherein said intermediate layer is selected from the group consisting of tin, chromium, nickel or copper.

76. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 50, wherein said coating includes a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, bismuth, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, silicon, zinc and mixtures thereof.

51. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip made of a metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, tin, bronze and titanium, said metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy including a majority of tin, lead and a metal additive, said metal additive comprising a stabilizing agent including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper and mixtures thereof for inhibiting crystallization of said tin.

52. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 51, wherein said metal additive includes a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

53. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 51, wherein said metal additive includes a corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, titanium and mixtures thereof for enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

54. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 53, wherein said metal additive includes a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

77. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip made of a metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, tin, bronze and titanium, said metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy including a majority of tin, lead and a metal additive, said metal additive comprising a corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, titanium and mixtures thereof for inhibiting enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

78. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 77, wherein said metal additive includes a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

79. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip made of a metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, tin, bronze and titanium, said metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said metal strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy including a majority of tin and a metal additive, said metal additive comprising a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

80. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said coating having a substantially uniform thickness, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising zinc, tin and a metal additive, said tin content plus said zinc content constituting a majority of said corrosion-resistant alloy and said zinc content constituting greater than about 10 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said tin content constituting at least about 15 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, and said metal additive selected from the group consisting of a stabilizing agent, a coloring agent, a corrosion-resistant agent and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper and mixtures thereof for inhibiting crystallization of said tin, said corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium and mixtures thereof for enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant-alloy, said coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

81. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said metal strip is selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, bronze, nickel alloys, tin and titanium.

82. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 81, wherein said metal strip is stainless steel.

83. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 81, wherein said metal strip is copper.

84. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein the weight percentage of said tin content plus said zinc content of said corrosion-resistant alloy is at least about 80 weight percent.

85. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein the weight percentage of said tin content plus said zinc content of said corrosion-resistant alloy is at least about 90 weight percent.

86. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein the weight percentage of said tin content plus said zinc content of said corrosion-resistant alloy is at least about 98 weight percent.

87. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy including a second additive selected from the group consisting of aluminum, manganese, silicon, cadmium, lead, iron, boron, carbon, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium and mixtures thereof.

88. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said metallic alloy is a two-phase alloy of tin and zinc comprising:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Tin 15-90 Zinc 10-85 Magnesium 0.0-5 Nickel 0.0-5 Copper 0.0-5 Titanium 0.0-1 Aluminum 0.0-5 Antimony 0.0-7.5 Bismuth 0.0-1.7 Iron 0.0-1 Lead 0.0-1. ______________________________________

89. A coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy has a thickness of about 0.0001 to about 0.05 inch.

90. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 89, wherein said thickness of said layer is about 0.001 to about 0.003 inch.

91. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, including an intermediate metal layer applied to the surface of said metal strip prior to passing said metal strip through said molten bath.

92. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 91, wherein said intermediate metal layer is selected from the group consisting of tin, chromium, nickel and copper.

93. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 92, wherein said intermediate metal layer is a hot dipped tin layer.

94. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 92, wherein said intermediate layer is plated chromium.

95. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 91, wherein said intermediate metal layer has a thickness of up to about 3 microns.

96. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said metal strip has a thickness of about 0.005 to about 0.1 inch.

97. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 96, wherein said thickness of said metal strip is about 0.005 to about 0.03 inch.

98. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.01 to about 2.7 weight percent copper.

99. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.1 to about 1.6 weight percent copper.

100. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 1.0 to about 1.5 weight percent copper.

101. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.3 to about 1.0 weight percent nickel.

102. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.7 weight percent nickel.

103. The method as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.1 to about 1.0 weight percent magnesium.

104. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.1 to about 0.4 weight percent magnesium.

105. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.01 to about 1.0 weight percent titanium.

106. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.5 weight percent titanium.

107. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.15 weight percent titanium.

108. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 1.0 weight percent aluminum.

109. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.5 weight percent aluminum.

110. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 80, wherein said alloy includes about 0.01 to about 0.3 weight percent aluminum.

120. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 108, including an intermediate metal layer that is applied to the surface of said stainless steel strip prior to coating said stainless steel strip.

111. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said coating having a substantially uniform thickness, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising zinc, tin and a metal additive, said tin content plus said zinc content constituting a majority of said corrosion-resistant alloy and said zinc content constituting greater than about 10 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said tin content constituting at least about 15 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy and said metal additive comprising a metal stabilizer including at least an effective amount of metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper and mixtures thereof for inhibiting crystallization of said tin.

112. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 111, wherein said metal additive includes a corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium and mixtures thereof for enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

113. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 112, wherein said metal additive includes a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

114. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 111, wherein said metal additive includes a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

115. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said coating having a substantially uniform thickness, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising zinc, tin and a metal additive, said tin content plus said zinc content constituting a majority of said corrosion-resistant alloy and said zinc content constituting greater than about 10 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said tin content constituting at least about 15 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, and said metal additive comprising a corrosion-resistant agent including at least an effective amount of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium and mixtures thereof.

116. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 115, wherein said metal additive includes a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

117. A coated metal strip comprising a metal strip passed into a molten bath of corrosion-resistant alloy such that the residence time of said strip in said molten bath is sufficient to deposit a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said metal strip and forming a heat created intermetallic layer between said metal strip surface and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said coating having a substantially uniform thickness, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising zinc, tin and a metal additive, said tin content plus said zinc content constituting a majority of said corrosion-resistant alloy and said zinc content constituting greater than about 10 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said tin content constituting at least about 15 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, and said metal additive comprising a coloring agent including at least an effective amount of copper for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant alloy.

118. A coated metal strip made of stainless steel, said stainless steel strip having a thickness of up to about 0.2 inch and supplied from a coil of stainless steel strip and a coating of a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy on the surface of said stainless steel strip and forming an intermetallic layer between said stainless steel strip and said layer of corrosion-resistant alloy, said layer having a substantially uniform thickness of up to about 0.05 inch along the longitudinal length of said stainless steel strip, said intermetallic layer having a thickness of at least about 1 micron and comprising a heat created interface alloy created from a mixture of said stainless steel strip and corrosion-resistant alloy, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising over 90 weight percent tin, lead and a metal additive selected from the group consisting of at least an effective amount of metal stabilizer for inhibiting crystallization of said tin, at least an effective amount of corrosion-resistant agent for enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant alloy, at least an effective amount of coloring agent for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant coating and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper and mixtures thereof, said corrosion-resistant agent includes a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, copper, magnesium, titanium and mixtures thereof and said coloring agent includes copper.

119. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 118, wherein said corrosion-resistant alloy comprises over 95 weight percent tin.

121. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 118, wherein said stainless steel strip is coated by passing said stainless steel strip at a selected rate of speed through a molten bath of said corrosion-resistant alloy having a temperature of at least about 449°

F., said speed rate of said stainless steel strip selected such that stainless steel strip has a residence time in said molten bath of about 0.08 to about 10 minutes.

122. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 118, wherein said stainless steel strip is coated by passing said stainless steel strip through a solution of corrosion-resistant alloy and plating said corrosion-resistant alloy onto the surface of said stainless steel strip, said plated stainless steel strip being subsequently heated for a sufficient time period to form said heat created intermetallic interface.

123. A coated metal strip made of stainless steel, said stainless steel strip having a thickness of up to about 0.2 inch and supplied from a coil of stainless steel strip and a coating of a substantially uninterrupted layer of said corrosion-resistant alloy having a substantially uniform thickness of up to about 0.05 inch and a heat created intermetallic interface comprising an interface alloy which includes iron, chromium and tin and has a thickness of up to about 10 microns, said corrosion-resistant alloy comprising tin, zinc and a metal additive, wherein the tin content plus the zinc content constitutes at least about 75 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said zinc content greater than about 10 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, said tin content at least about 15 weight percent of said corrosion-resistant alloy, and said metal additive selected from the group consisting of at least an effective amount of metal stabilizer for inhibiting crystallization of said tin, at least an effective amount of corrosion-resistant agent for enhancing the corrosion-resistant properties of said corrosion-resistant alloy, at least an effective amount of coloring agent for reducing the reflectivity of said corrosion-resistant coating and mixtures thereof, said metal stabilizer including a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper and mixtures thereof, said corrosion-resistant agent includes a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, bismuth, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium and mixtures thereof, and said coloring agent includes copper.

124. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 123, including an intermediate that is applied to the surface of said stainless steel strip prior to coating said stainless steel strip.

125. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 123, wherein said stainless steel strip is coated by passing said stainless steel strip through a molten bath of said corrosion-resistant alloy having a temperature of at least about 449°

F., said speed rate of said stainless steel strip selected such that said stainless steel strip has a residence time in said molten bath of about 0.08 to about 10 minutes.

126. The coated metal strip as defined in claim 123, wherein said stainless steel strip is coated by passing said stainless steel strip through a solution of corrosion-resistant alloy and plating said corrosion-resistant alloy onto the surface of said stainless steel strip, said plated stainless steel strip being subsequently heated for a sufficient time period to form said heat created intermetallic interface.