I hadn’t realized that. I’d always viewed our zinc phosphate bath as just a cleaning solution (which it also partially is). Of course not being content to be ignorant about a key process in my livlihood, I went and talked to one of our paint guys, and yeah: it serves as a coating, aids adhesion of the ecoat, and I forgot to ask about the self-healing and whether it sticks to bronze.
Salesman: “Here’s a nice one…a 20015 Pontaic “Bronzetta”-only 12,00 miles”
Customer: “Whay is it green?”
Salesman: “ITs bronze-nice patina, what do you think?”
Customer: “I really like the shiney one over there”
Salesman: “Oh, thats a Delorean-it is stainless steel”
Customer: “I’ll take it”