Methods of pre-conditioning and lubricating the rubbing surfaces of steel substrates are provided. The methods include a pre-conditioning step in which a hydrocarbon fluid having cycloalkane carboxylic acid additives dispersed therein is used to form a tribofilm on a rubbing surface of a device, following by replacing the pre-conditioning lubricant with a cycloalkane-carboxylic acid-free hydrocarbon lubricant for the regular operation of the device. The tribofilm formed during the pre-conditioning step provides long-term friction and wear reduction at the rubbing surfaces, even after it is replaced, and allows for the subsequent operation of the device without the need to change the composition of the regularly used lubricant.

A composition for lubricating and/or descaling in the hot processing of metals includes a solid mixture containing the following constituents: (a) 20 to 60% by weight of condensed alkali phosphate, (b) 10 to 40% by weight boron compound selected from borosilicate glass, boric acid, boric acid salt, or a mixture thereof, (c) 10 to 30% by weight alkali or alkaline earth sulphates, (d) 5 to 25% by weight fatty acid, fatty acid salt, or a mixture thereof. The sum of the constituents (a) and (b) constitutes at least 50% by weight of the mixture and the sum of the constituents (a) to (d) constitutes at least 85% by weight of the mixture.

Provided is a water-based lubricating coating agent for a metal material, capable of carrying out a chemical conversion treatment and a lubrication treatment at the same time, which makes it possible to achieve excellent lubricity even in plastic working, press molding, and the like, and at the same time, operability (e.g., process shortening, sludge reduction).

The water-based lubricating coating agent having pH of 2.0 to 6.5 for a metal material is obtained by blending: at least one lubricating component other than black-based solid lubricants; and at least one chemical conversion component selected from the group consisting of a phosphoric acid compound, an oxalic acid compound, a molybdic acid compound, a zirconium compound, and a titanium compound, the concentration of the lubricating component is 5 mass % or more in mass ratio to the total solid content mass in the lubricating coating agent, and the concentration of the chemical conversion component is 0.3 to 8 mass % when the total mass of the lubricating coating agent is regarded as 100 mass %.

Provided is a lubricant composition for plastic working of a ferrous material, the lubricant composition being excellent in lubricity and releasability and not staining the work environment black. A lubricant composition for plastic working of a ferrous material is used, the lubricant composition containing (a) an alkali metal salt of an organic acid, (b) water-based resin particles, (c) a water-soluble polymer, and (d) water, the (b) water-based resin particles including particles having a particle diameter of not more than 0.1 ?m in an amount of more than 5% by weight relative to a total amount of the (b) water-based resin particles.

Coating materials with minimized lubricant demand enable optimized tribological conditions in forming flat steel products and are also unobjectionable in relation to their effects on the environment. With such coating materials, steel components can be produced by forming flat steel products in forming machines. For example, a tribologically-active layer may be produced on at least one surface of a flat steel product or a forming machine used to form the flat steel product, wherein the at least one surface comes into contact with the opposing component during forming. The tribologically-active layer may be formed by coating the at least one surface with a coating material from a group consisting of aluminum sulfate, ammonium sulfate, iron sulfate, and magnesium sulfate. The flat steel product may be inserted into the forming machine to be formed into the steel component.

A water-containing lubricant coating agent, used in metal plastic working, includes a water content of 3 to 50 mass %, at least one lipophilic lubricating component (A) and/or at least one solid lubricant (B) with cleavability dispersed in water, and at least one water-soluble lubricating component (C) selected from fatty acid components having 12 to 20 carbon atoms; wherein a mass ratio of (C)/[(A)+(B)]=0.05 to 0.5.

An aqueous lubricant for metal material plastic working, which can form a lubricating coating having excellent lubricity (moisture absorption resistance) under a high humidity environment, seizure resistance to metal working with high difficulty, and the like, and further has excellent long-term agent stability; a metal material having a lubricating coating formed by the aqueous lubricant on/over a surface of the metal material; and a metal processed article obtained by molding the metal material are provided. The above problem can be solved by using an aqueous lubricant for metal material plastic working in which an aliphatic polycarboxylic acid having 5 to 8 carbon atoms and a solubility in water at 20 C. of 10 g/100 mL or more and an alkaline earth metal compound are blended in water, or an alkaline earth metal salt of the aliphatic polycarboxylic acid is dissolved or dispersed in water.

The present invention relates to a steel cord for rubber reinforcement. In the steel cord of the present invention, cobalt is contained by 0.001 ppm to 0.1 ppm within a 4 nm top-surface of the brass-plated steel wire. A method of manufacturing the steel cord includes: providing a brass-plated steel wire; mixing a cobalt compound in a wet lubricant filled in a wet drawing bath provided with a plurality of drawing dies between one pair of multi-stage drawing cones such that the concentration of the cobalt compound becomes 0.1 ppm to 100 ppm; and causing the cobalt to be contained by 0.001 ppm to 0.1 ppm within a 4 nm top-surface of the brass-plated steel wire after the brass-plated steel wire passes through a final die by causing the cobalt to be attached to a surface of the brass-plated steel wire and alloyed with a brass layer while the brass-plated steel wire is passing through the drawing cones and the drawing dies to be subjected to multi-stage drawing.

A process for surface treatment of metal substrates, including the steps of: providing a metal substrate including hydroxyl groups at its surface; bringing the metal substrate into contact with a solution of at least one organophosphorus compound to enable the reaction of the hydroxyl groups at the surface of the metal substrate with the organophosphorus compound to form a monomolecular layer over the surface and a second layer of physisorbed organophosphorus molecules at least preponderantly crystallized, the obtained treated substrate being coated with the organophosphorus compound in the form of a first monomolecular layer coating at least 15% of the surface of the substrate and in the form of a physisorbed second layer at least preponderantly crystallized. A treated metal substrate which may be obtained by the process thereof, corresponding solution and its use for treating metallic substrates to improve their tribological properties during their shaping, in particular their stamping.

An improved metal working composition is provided. The composition comprises an additive defined by Formula I:

[R.sup.1(CO).sub.yO(CH.sub.2CHR.sup.2O).sub.z].sub.nPO.sub.4-nX.sub.3-nFormula I

wherein:
R.sup.1 is a saturated or unsaturated, branched or linear, alkyl or aryl hydrocarbon group comprising at least 10 to no more than 24 carbons;
each R.sup.2 is independently selected from H and alkyl of 1-5 carbons;
X is a cation or hydrogen;
y is 0 or 1;
z is an integer of 1 to 20; and
n is 1 or 2.