Powder metal and/or refractory coated ferrous metals

A method of coating a low alloy steel strip with an adherent protective metal coating which is deformable at room temperature and resistant to oxidation at elevated temperatures comprising:

• (a) applying to a clean surface of a titanium-containing low alloy low carbon steel strip a uniform wet film coating of a finely divided protective metal uniformly dispersed in a synthetic resin binder composition comprised essentially of a synthetic resin and a solubilizing volatilizable organic solvent compatible with said resin;
• (b) said finely divided protective metal being selected from the group consisting of aluminum powder, a mixture of aluminum powder and 5-12 wt.% silicon powder, a powder alloy of aluminum and 5-12 wt.% silicon, and a mixture of aluminum powder and zinc;
• (c) said protective coating metal comprising between about 80 and 88 percent by volume of said wet film and said wet film having a thickness sufficient to form a dry film coating of between about 17.5 .mu.m and 37 .mu.m;
• (d) heating said wet film coating at a temperature which effects volatilizing said solvent and curing said resin to form a flexible dry film on the surface of said strip;
• and
• (e) heating said dry film in a non-oxidizing atmophere at an elevated temperature which avoids significantly increasing the grain size of said steel strip for a period sufficient to form an adherent protective surface coating which is deformable at room temperature and which directly contacts the surface of the steel strip without an intervening layer in contact with the steel strip.