The invention relates to a wet-chemical pretreatment of zinc surfaces prior to applying a corrosion-protection coating, which deposits a thin inorganic coating of oxide and/or metallic iron. An iron layer structure which is applied according to the invention, hereinafter referred to as ferrization, improves the achievable corrosion protection of wet-chemical conversion coatings on zinc surfaces. Furthermore, the ferrization process causes both a reduction of the contact corrosion of joined metal components which have zinc and iron surfaces as well as a reduction of corrosive coating migration on cut edges of galvanized steel strips with coating layer structures. In particular, the invention relates to an alkaline composition containing an iron ion source, a reducing agent based on oxoacids of nitrogen and phosphorus, and water-soluble organic carboxylic acids with an amino group at the , , or position with respect to the acid group and/or the water-soluble salts thereof.

In the present invention, there is provided a coating liquid for forming an insulation coating for a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, including: a solvent; and one or two more layered clay mineral powders having a specific surface area of 20 m.sup.2/g or more. In addition, in the present invention, there is provided a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet including: a base metal; and an insulation coating provided on a surface of the base metal, in which the insulation coating contains SiO.sub.2, and one or two of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and MgO, and has a porosity of 10% or less.

In the present invention, there is provided a coating liquid for forming an insulation coating for a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, including: a solvent; and one or two more layered clay mineral powders having a specific surface area of 20 m.sup.2/g or more. In addition, in the present invention, there is provided a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet including: a base metal; and an insulation coating provided on a surface of the base metal, in which the insulation coating contains SiO.sub.2, and one or two of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and MgO, and has a porosity of 10% or less.

The present invention pertains to a method for producing a black-plated steel sheet capable of being blackened in a short amount of time, and exhibiting an excellent ability to maintain a black appearance after processing. As an original sheet, the sheet used is a Zn-plating steel sheet which contains molten Al and Mg and has a Zn-plating layer containing molten Al and Mg, containing Al in the amount of 1.0-22.0 mass %, inclusive, and containing Mg in the amount of 1.5-10.0 mass %, inclusive. The plating layer is blackened by causing the molten-plating steel sheet to contact water vapor inside a tightly sealed container. When doing so, the concentration of oxygen inside the tightly sealed container is 13% or less.

An illustrative example embodiment of an apparatus and method includes providing a weave body downstream of an electrolyzer, purifying hydrogen by demisting a hydrogen stream exiting the electrolyzer via flow through the weave body; and de-oxidizing the hydrogen stream during flow through the weave body.