Phosphating offers a cost-effective approach to pretreatment of steel for painting. Its use not only increases the corrosion resistance of the metal but also improves adhesion of the paint coating. The phosphating process and the film formed, is determined by the surface composition of the steel and the formulation of the phosphating solution. These variables manifest themselves both in the rate of film formation and also the size and morphology of the phosphate crystals. This latter is the factor which primarily determines adhesion of the paint coating.