Coating compositions

Claim 1

A coating composition in which the film-forming material consists of: (a) from 30% to 85% by volume of a disperse phase consisting of particles having a size or size distribution in the range 0.01 to 20 microns, not less than 50% by volume of those particles consisting of non-crosslinked polyester microparticles, and the disperse phase being in a state of stable dispersion maintained by means of an amphipathic dispersing agent in a substantially deflocculated, sterically stabilized state of dispersion in (b) from 70% to 15% by volume of a liquid continuous phase in which said polyester is insoluble, the continuous phase having a viscosity of from 0.1 to 20 poise at room temperature, being capable of curing to a film-forming polymer by an autoxidative polymerisation reaction and consisting of a homogeneous mixture of: (i) an autoxidisable derivative of a polyhydric alcohol such that in each molecule of the derivative there are present from 4 to 12 autoxidisable groupings bound by ester or ether linkages to a polyhydric alcohol residue, the said derivative having a boiling point in excess of 150° C., and (ii) a liquid compound of viscosity less than 2 poise at room temperature which contains in the molecule at least one unsaturated grouping correactive with the autoxidisable groupings in (i) but which is not itself capable of undergoing autoxidative polymerisation, the said compound having a boiling point in excess of 150° C.; the total volume of (a) and (b) being 100% and the autoxidisable groupings constituting at least 30% of the total number of autoxidisable and coreactive groupings in the continuous phase.