A process for providing a corrosion resistant coating on ferrous components, wherein uncoated ferrous components are subjected to the steps of: (a) (i) mechanical plating, using as a coating medium a zinc metal-containing powder, so as to build up a firmly adherent coating of the coating medium over exposed surfaces of the components, (ii) the mechanical plating is conducted at a temperature not exceeding 30 oC by charging the uncoated ferrous components into an inclined rotatable housing along with glass beads, a sufficient quantity of the zinc metal-containing powder and of an aqueous solution, and rotating the housing for a period of time appropriate to achieve a required coating thickness by powder particles being cold welded to the components under the hammering and impacting action of the glass beads against the components, and (iii) the zinc metal-containing powder consists of elemental metal powder, or alloy metal powder or a combination of elemental and alloy metal powder, with the powder containing: from 6 to 25 wt% of tin, from 0 to 15 wt% of aluminium, from 0 to 6 wt% of magnesium, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of silicon, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of copper, from 0 to 0.1 wt% of manganese, and other metals present at a level not more than 0.5 wt% each, said other metals not exceeding 2.5 wt% in aggregate, and a balance of zinc; (b) heating the components with the firmly adherent coating so as to produce solid-solid diffusion, with diffusion of iron from the components to the coating, to form an Fe/Zn intermetallic layer on and over the surfaces of the components, in at least a base layer of the coating built up by the mechanical plating; and (c) cooling the components. (a) (i) mechanical plating, using as a coating medium a zinc metal-containing powder, so as to build up a firmly adherent coating of the coating medium over exposed surfaces of the components, (ii) the mechanical plating is conducted at a temperature not exceeding 30 oC by charging the uncoated ferrous components into an inclined rotatable housing along with glass beads, a sufficient quantity of the zinc metal-containing powder and of an aqueous solution, and rotating the housing for a period of time appropriate to achieve a required coating thickness by powder particles being cold welded to the components under the hammering and impacting action of the glass beads against the components, and (iii) the zinc metal-containing powder consists of elemental metal powder, or alloy metal powder or a combination of elemental and alloy metal powder, with the powder containing: from 6 to 25 wt% of tin, from 0 to 15 wt% of aluminium, from 0 to 6 wt% of magnesium, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of silicon, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of copper, from 0 to 0.1 wt% of manganese, and other metals present at a level not more than 0.5 wt% each, said other metals not exceeding 2.5 wt% in aggregate, and a balance of zinc; (i) mechanical plating, using as a coating medium a zinc metal-containing powder, so as to build up a firmly adherent coating of the coating medium over exposed surfaces of the components, (ii) the mechanical plating is conducted at a temperature not exceeding 30 oC by charging the uncoated ferrous components into an inclined rotatable housing along with glass beads, a sufficient quantity of the zinc metal-containing powder and of an aqueous solution, and rotating the housing for a period of time appropriate to achieve a required coating thickness by powder particles being cold welded to the components under the hammering and impacting action of the glass beads against the components, and (iii) the zinc metal-containing powder consists of elemental metal powder, or alloy metal powder or a combination of elemental and alloy metal powder, with the powder containing: from 6 to 25 wt% of tin, from 0 to 15 wt% of aluminium, from 0 to 6 wt% of magnesium, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of silicon, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of copper, from 0 to 0.1 wt% of manganese, and other metals present at a level not more than 0.5 wt% each, said other metals not exceeding 2.5 wt% in aggregate, and a balance of zinc; from 6 to 25 wt% of tin, from 0 to 15 wt% of aluminium, from 0 to 6 wt% of magnesium, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of silicon, from 0 to 0.8 wt% of copper, from 0 to 0.1 wt% of manganese, and other metals present at a level not more than 0.5 wt% each, said other metals not exceeding 2.5 wt% in aggregate, and a balance of zinc; (b) heating the components with the firmly adherent coating so as to produce solid-solid diffusion, with diffusion of iron from the components to the coating, to form an Fe/Zn intermetallic layer on and over the surfaces of the components, in at least a base layer of the coating built up by the mechanical plating; and (c) cooling the components.