The invention detailed herein comprises a family of 
radiation-curable 
coating formulations specifically for 
metal substrates. These 
coating formulations are based on multifunctional 
acrylate resins formed by the reaction of 
acrylate monomers and oligomers with ÿ-keto esters (e.g., 
acetoacetates), ÿ-diketones (e.g., 2, 4-pentanedione), ÿ-keto amides (e.g., 
acetoacetanilide, acetoacetamide), and / or other ÿ-dicarbonyl compounds that can participate in the Michael 
addition reaction. An essential novelty of these 
coating resins is that they will cure under standard UV-cure conditions without the addition of traditional photoinitiators. Other materials, both reactive (conventional acrylates) and non-reactive (e.g., solvents) may also be incorporated into the resin oligomers to enhance the coatings properties on 
metal substrates. These materials include a variety of 
acrylic monomers and oligomers, primary, secondary and 
tertiary amines, acid-functional monomers and oligomers, silicones, waxes and elastomers, among others. Coatings based on these novel multifunctional 
acrylate resins exhibit excellent adhesion and shrinkage control, flexibility, 
solvent resistance, scratch and mar resistance, 
impact resistance, color, and durability across a wide range of 
plastic materials. These coatings may be cured via chemical means, thermally, or by 
exposure to UV or 
electron beam 
radiation.