Low bake melamine cured coating compositions

The present invention provides reactive aqueous or solvent borne compositions comprising one or more low-temperature curing alkylether functional aminoplast resins having an average degree of polymerization of from 1.0 to 2.0, preferably alkylether group containing melamines, one or more hydroxyl group containing resins or polymers, such as acrylics and polyesters, one or more unblocked acid catalysts each having a pKa of 0.25 to 1.0, such as organic sulfonic acids, and one or more volatile amines, e.g. N-dipropylamine, that have a relative evaporation rate (RER) of 50-500, wherein, RER equals (p)(M)/11.6, with p being the vapor pressure of the amine in mm Hg and M being the molecular weight of the amine. The compositions cure at from 60 DEG C. to 135 DEG C., e.g. below 105 DEG C., to form durable coatings suitable for plastic substrates, such as automotive plastics. The present invention also provides methods of forming the compositions comprising mixing the said aminoplast resins, hydroxyl group containing resins or polymers, unblocked acids and volatile amines to form a mixture, wherein the acids and the amines are added separately into the mixture.