Method of treating ferrous strand for coating with aluminum-zinc alloys

A method of coating a ferrous strand with an alloy coating comprising, by weight, about 25 to 70% aluminum, balance essentially zinc, wherein said ferrous strand is caused to move from a heating furnace through a protective hood into a molten metal bath composed of said aluminum-zinc alloy, into which said protective hood extends in a manner to enclose a small portion of the surface of said molten metal bath within said protective hood, comprising the steps of:

• a. introducing into said protective hood a reducing gas preheated to a temperature of at least about 750.degree. F. and composed of at least 20% by volume of hydrogen, balance essentially nitrogen, said reducing gas having a dew point no greater than about 0.degree. F. and being introduced in such a manner as to sweep across the surface of the molten metal bath,
• b. correlating the hydrogen content of said reducing gas with the dew point thereof so as to control bath surface oxidation within said protective hood to avoid bath oxide particle pickup on the strand, and
• c. continuing to introduce such correlated preheated reducing gas into said protective hood and causing said reducing gas to flow countercurrent to the movement of the ferrous strand, whereby to bathe and maintain said strand within said protective hood and heating furnace under reducing conditions.