A method and composition for coating surfaces, a corresponding coating and the use of objects coated according to said method. A cleaned, metallic surface is contacted with an aqueous composition that is a dispersion or suspension, and drying and/or baking the organic coating or optionally, drying the organic coating and coating with an equivalent or additional coating composition prior to a drying and/or baking. The aqueous composition has a pH of 4 to 11 and contains an anionic polyelectrolyte in a quantity of 0.01 to 5.0 wt. % relative to the total mass of the composition, which may have a solids content of from 2 to 40 wt. %. The solids have an average particle size from 10 to 1000 nm. A coating forms on the basis of an ionogenic gel which binds cations released from the metallic surface that originate from a pretreatment stage or from the contacting.