surface treatment processes can be conventional such as chromate , and particularly preferred nitriding or phosphating . see generally kirk and othmer , &# 34 ; encyclopedia of chemical technology &# 34 ;, 2nd ed ., vol . 18 ( 1969 ), pp . 282 - 303 and the later editions . phosphating can be accomplished by the conventional techniques such as those set forth in &# 34 ; practical phosphate coatings &# 34 ;, mangill company , and u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 967 , 948 , 2 , 465 , 247 , 3 , 686 , 031 , 4 , 419 , 199 , 4 , 539 , 051 and 4 , 540 , 637 and references thereto . for automotive uses , preferred phosphating is to a thickness of at least 2 , 000 - 3 , 000 mg zinc phosphate / square foot of work piece . nitriding can be either salt bath or fluidized bed nitriding , such as the commercial processes &# 34 ; tuff tride &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; melonite &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; qpq &# 34 ; ( quench - polish - quench , in which salt bath nitriding is followed by quench in an oxidizing salt bath , followed by mechanical polishing , and a second quench ), or fluidized bed nitriding as described in &# 34 ; fluidized bed furnace heat treating applications for the dye casting industry &# 34 ;, japka , may - june 1983 , dye casting engineer . miscellaneous surface treatment processes which may be employed with the invention include procedyne &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; dyna - case surface hardening treatment &# 34 ;, deep case carburization in a fluidized furnace by adding methanol which is vaporized and mixed with nitrogen and a small amount of natural gas to form a synthetic endothermic atmosphere within the treating furnace at about 899 °- 1010 ° c . ( 1650 °- 1850 ° f .) for 1 - 8 hours , carbonitriding at 815 °- 871 ° c . ( 1500 °- 1600 ° f .) for 10 minutes - 1 hours , followed by quenching ; nitriding by adding nitrogen from raw ammonia onto the surface of the material at 510 °- 593 ° c . ( 950 °- 1100 ° f .) to provide a case of 0 . 001 - 0 . 015 inches deep ; nitrocarburizing providing a case of 0 . 005 - 0 . 0020 inches deep by contacting mixtures of natural gas and raw ammonia in a fluid bed furnace at 566 °- 621 ° c . ( 1050 °- 1150 ° f .) for 0 . 5 - 2 hours ; steam bluing in a fluid bed furnace at 343 °- 538 ° c . ( 650 °- 1000 ° f .) for 20 minutes - 1 hour to provide a blue or black surface , or even combinations of these conventional surface treatment processes . application : the formulations of the present invention may be applied to substrates to be protected by conventional application techniques , such as spraying , brushing , dipping , flow - coating , dipspinning , &# 34 ; filwhirl &# 34 ;, or airless spraying . coating thickness can be varied by changing the formulation , the number of coats , or the amount applied per coat but in general will be in the range from about 0 . 1 to about 5 mils , more preferably 0 . 2 to 2 mils , after drying . 1 . organic / inorganic complex the colloidal metal - bearing organic / inorganic non - newtonian complex will preferably be produced according to the techniques of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 629 , 753 to quinn . the complex will preferably have a total base number in the range of about 80 to about 400 , and preferably comprise solid metal - containing colloidal particles , dispersing agents , and at least one organic compound containing a hydrophobic portion in its molecule , and also one or a plurality of polar substituents in its molecule . preferably the complex is a non - asphaltic , non - mastic type of coating composition comprising an effective amount of water ( preferably 0 . 1 to 10 , more preferably 0 . 2 to 6 , most preferably 0 . 3 to 3 % water ) and having dispersed within said water a non - newtonian colloidal dispersed system comprising : ( a ) solid metal containing particles of alkaline earth metal salts ; ( b ) a dispersed medium comprising a liquid hydrocarbon fraction ; and ( c ) at least one organic compound comprising alkaline earth metal salts of oil soluble organic acids , said dispersed system being characterized by having a neutralization base number of about 2 . 0 or less . preferably the dispersed system will include solid metal - containing particles of alkaline earth metal salts selected from the group consisting of : ( a ) calcium and barium carbonates ; ( b ) a dispersed medium comprising mineral oil ; and ( c ) at least one alkaline earth metal salt of oil - soluble organic acids selected from the group consisting of calcium and barium sulfonate and carboxylate . most preferred of the complexes is the complex sold by lubrizol corp . of wickliffe , ohio under the brand name &# 34 ; lubrizol 2064 &# 34 ;. about 2 to 50 , more preferably 5 to 40 , and most preferably 10 to 30 parts by weight of the complex will be used in the compositions of the invention . stated differently , the complex may be described as an overbased alkali or alkaline earth metal , e . g . calcium , sulfonate gel . the organic / inorganic complex will have a total base number ranging from about 100 to about 450 , and more preferably from about 200 to 400 . about 1 to 30 , more preferably about 3 to 20 , and most preferably about 4 to 10 parts by weight of a sodium sulfonate can be added . such sulfonate will preferably have a total base number of about 0 . 5 to 200 , more preferably about 1 to 100 , most preferably 5 to 50 . preferred sulfonates are alkali metal sulfonates , more preferably sodium sulfonate , and most preferably lubrizol 5363 from lubrizol corp ., wickliffe , ohio . about 0 . 1 to 5 . 0 , more preferred 0 . 2 to 3 . 0 and most preferred 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 , parts by weight of a ( preferably c 5 - c 20 , more preferably c 8 - c 18 ) carboxylic acid or mixture thereof having an acid value ranging from 100 to 200 , most preferred being 180 to 200 , and a saponification number ranging from 100 to 200 with the most preferred also being 180 to 200 . iodine value for the material preferred is 130 to 140 . acids available from union camp , known as unitol dsr - 90 , are particularly preferred . about 0 . 1 to 10 . 0 , more preferred 0 . 2 to 5 . 0 and most preferred 0 . 2 to 2 . 0 , parts by weight of an amine or combination of amines preferably selected from the group of triethylamine , triethanolamine , dimethyethanolamine , or 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - propanol ( angus chemical , chicago , amp - 95 ) or monoethanolamine . most preferred are combinations of triethylamine and dimethylethanolamine in ranges of 0 . 2 to 2 . 0 parts by weight . &# 34 ; amine &# 34 ; as used herein includes aqua ammonia which can be used as a substitute for the organic amines . water employed in the formulation is most preferred as deionized or distilled but is not critical as normal tap water may be employed . water added should not be in excess of that which produces a dried film of the desired thickness . about 10 to 80 , more preferred 20 to 70 , and most preferred 25 to 65 parts of an acrylic emulsion of a water dispersed polymer capable of film forming . said water dispersed polymer particles are an acrylic copolymer derived from the mixtures of two or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers or at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomer and at least one vinyl double bond unsaturated monomer . preferred acrylic emulsion is neocryl a - 621 commercially available from ici , formerly polyvinyl chemical . others such as neocryl a - 620 and various others may be substituted to obtain desired properties . 7 . optional conventional ingredients may also be added , e . g . thickeners , additional corrosion inhibitors , pigments , fillers , dyes , odorants , plasticizers , co - solvents , extreme pressure ( ep ) additives , etc . apparatus : the apparatus for the present invention will be that conventionally utilized in the preparation of coatings compositions , e . g . kettles and mixing tanks having flow metering or measuring devices and agitation means , e . g . pumps mounted on side - arms connecting with the main vessel , internal stirrers , contra - rotating shearing devices and any of the other available devices which are well known to the art . temperature : the temperature during mixing may be different during different stages in the formulation . these temperatures are not narrowly critical and will vary to provide faster mixing or better compatibility of ingredients according to observation of those skilled in the art . for example , pressure vessels may be utilized for the purpose of raising ingredient boiling points , where useful , in order to provide better dispersion of difficult - to - mix ingredients . mixing procedure : while the formulations of the present invention may be manufactured continuously if desired , batch techniques will be more usually employed . the sulfonate / acrylic emulsions are mixed thoroughly under constant agitation , after which the formulation is drawn off into shipping containers , e . g . tank cars , tank trucks , drums or smaller cans . quality control : the finished formulation , prior to packaging , will generally be checked for viscosity , ph , freeze - thaw stability , corrosion - protection under accelerated conditions and other tests utilizing techniques well known to the coatings industry . the concentrate ( e . g . prepared according to example 1 ) is diluted with 10 to 80 , or more preferably 20 to 65 , and most preferably 30 to 55 parts by weight of water to form the emulsion which is applied to the work pieces . the solution is preferably applied at 25 ° c . ( 77 ° f .). while the examples describe the invention on a batch basis , it may come , of course , to be practiced on a continuous basis with continuous flows of starting materials into the mixing vessel and with continuous coating techniques , e . g . roller coating continuous conveyor or even continuous work piece , e . g . sheet steel moving continuously through a dip tank . formulation according to the invention providing excellent salt spray resistance and shelf life to a conventional steam jacketed mixing kettle equipped with rotary stirrer are added 23 . 48 parts by weight of calcium sulfonate gel having a base number of about 80 to 400 and purchased as lubrizol 2064 . to the sulfonate gel is added 6 . 26 parts by weight of sodium sulfonate , lz5363 also purchased from lubrizol corp ., wickliffe , ohio . under mixing is added 0 . 62 parts by weight of amine in the form of triethylamine available from union carbide corp ., danbury , conn . continuing mixing 0 . 94 parts by weight of fatty acid , preferably tall oil fatty acid purchased from union camp of jacksonville , fla ., as unitol dsr - 90 and 0 . 5 parts by weight of 28 ° baume aqua ammonia as an additional fugitive neutralizing agent . stirring continues during the addition of each ingredient to prepare a neutralized , amine fatty acid soap / sulfonate complex . the amine soap functions as an emulsifier package for emulsification of the sulfonate organic / inorganic complex . to this mixture 21 . 45 parts of water which preferably has been preheated to 130 °- 150 ° f . to facilitate emulsification is added while mixing is continued . once the sulfonate complex is converted to the emulsion form , 46 . 75 parts of an acrylic emulsion known as neocryl a - 621 , available from ici ( formerly polyvinyl chemical ) is added . heating is discontinued but stirring is continued about 60 minutes to ensure a homogeneous mixture . the contents of the mixing vessel are then sampled , quality control tested for viscosity , stability and appearance followed by the drawing off of the formulation into 55 gallon drums . ( additional water may be added separately to desired levels because the individual applications will require various non - volatile and viscosity levels to facilitate dipping , spraying , or brushing .) the resulting formulation is tested for corrosion protection by applying it to a ferrous work piece which has been previously nitrocarburized conventional techniques , e . g . those of dawes u . s . pat . no . 4 , 496 , 401 , or fox u . s . pat . no . 4 , 756 , 774 , by dipping the work piece into an emulsion formed by adding one part by volume of the above formulation with 1 parts by volume of demineralized water . after drying for 24 hours , the test work piece is subjected to a 5 % neutral ph salt ( nacl ) spray at a temperature of 35 ° c . ( 95 ° f .) according to astb - 117 . the test part resists failure ( corrosion ) for 24 + days ( 576 + hours ). a sample of emulsion ( diluted as specified above ) shows no significant separation ( i . e ., less than 2 % &# 34 ; cream &# 34 ;) upon standing at room temperature for 24 hours . when a work piece as previously described is dipped into the above formulation ( diluted ) and allowed to dry at room temperature at approximately 50 % relative : humidity , the coating is dry to touch in 0 . 5 to 2 hours , but is cured for 24 hours . the coating remains self - healing , i . e ., a scratch made with a scribe heals to protect the metal . ( for comparison , a similar but coated phosphated work piece fails in less than 48 hours and a similar but uncoated nitrided work piece fails in less than 72 hours of salt spray .) when various differing compositions are prepared according to example 1 using ingredients according to table 1 , the results are as shown in table 2 . specific compositions , methods , or embodiments discussed are intended to be only illustrative of the invention disclosed by this specification . variation on these compositions , methods , or embodiments are readily apparent to a person of skill in the art based upon the teachings of this specification and are therefore intended to be included as part of the inventions disclosed herein . for example , the formulation may contain additional corrosion inhibitors biocides , antifoamers , dyes , pigments , antiwear additives , ep ( extreme pressure ) additives , perfume or odor masking agents , etc . reference to patents made in the specification is intended to result in such patents being expressly incorporated herein by reference including any patents or other literature references cited within such patents .