Passed through a chamber holding a non-oxidizing atmosphere substantially horizontally, a steel strip is continuously coated on one side only with a molten coating metal. An electromagnetic pump imparts a thrust to the molten coating metal on the entry side of a guide so as to form a stream of the molten metal rising above the bath surface on the exit side of the guide. The rising molten metal stream contacts the bottom surface of the strip to form a film of the coating metal thereon. Provision is made to offer less flow resistance to the rising stream widthwise then lengthwise, so that the molten coating metal flows positively toward both edges of the strip.