Drying studies on a protective coating formed by spontaneous polymerization on aluminum are described. The polymer coating studied here was formed from styrene, n-phenyl maleimide (NPMI), bismaleimide (BMI), and 2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl acetoacetate (MEA). The coating successfully changed into an adherent film through drying in the presence of a coalescing solvent. Drying at a high temperature (> 170degreesC) enhanced the performance of the coating in terms of corrosion resistance and adhesion. It was found that the drying process involved removal of surface water on the substrate followed by formation of a dense protective layer associated with thermal crosslinking of beta-diketone functional groups in the coating. The reaction mechanism, glass transition temperature, adhesion strength to aluminum, and corrosion resistance of these coatings are reported. The resultant coatings show excellent adhesion strength in a torsional test and very good resistance under the ASTM B-117 accelerated salt fog test.