Abstract: A process in which a steel is dipped in an aluminum-based bath wherein the composition and mean temperature of the bath and the immersion temperature of the steel are adjusted to obtain, in the immersion zone of the steel, a local bath temperature and composition resulting in an equilibrium with the solid phase designated as &thgr;≡FeAl3. Dipping is performed at a temperature higher than the temperatures normally employed in the art and a coating is obtained having at the interface with the steel an alloy layer significantly smaller in thickness than the art. The coating obtained better resists cracking and corrosion.