An aqueous
coating composition comprising: (A) an
emulsion polymer comprising: (i) 0.48 wt % to 1.5 wt % structural units of an ethylenically unsaturated
phosphorus-containing
monomer; (ii) 0.7 wt % to 3 wt % structural units of diacetone (
meth)
acrylamide; (iii) 10 wt % to 80 wt % structural units of a vinyl aromatic
monomer; (iv) structural units of an
alkyl (
meth)
acrylate; and (v) zero to 5 wt % structural units of an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated
carboxylic acid, its salt, or a mixture thereof; and (B) a specific concentration of a specific
dicarboxylic acid. and (C) 30% to 60% by weight of a
thio-, amido-, or imido-derivative of triphosphonic acid, its salt, or a mixture thereof, (D) a water-soluble
alkali metal silicate, the water-soluble
alkali metal silicate being present in an amount to provide a
dry weight ratio of (D) to (C) of 1.2 to 3.7, and (E) 40% to 52% by weight of
tannic acid,
gallic acid,
pyrogallol, or
citric acid, their salts, or combinations thereof, wherein the weight percentages are based on the
emulsion polymer weight. A method for preparing a
coating comprising a basecoat made from the aqueous
coating composition.