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.