Abstract: A process is described for the formation of an undercoat which is in turn useful in forming a CRT metal back layer. According to the process, a pretreatment composition is coated on a glass panel having a fluorescent layer overlaid thereon, so that a water film is formed. The pretreatment composition is composed of 2-20 wt. % of an alkyl monoalcohol having a C.sub.1-3 alkyl group, 0.05-1 wt. % of a water-soluble, high molecular compound and 79-97.95 wt. % of water. An undercoating composition is then coated on the water film by a wet-on-wet coating method, whereby a coating layer is formed. The undercoating composition is composed of 1-7 parts by weight of an acrylic resin, which has been obtained by polymerizing 90-100 wt. % of an alkyl methacrylate having a C.sub.1-4 alkyl group other than tertbutyl methacrylate and 0-10 wt. % of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer copolymerizable therewith, and 99-93 parts by weight of a solvent containing at least 80 wt. % of toluene.