Improvements in or relating to coating compositions

A liquid coating composition, from which haze-resistant cured coatings may be obtained, comprises cellulose nitrate, a polymerizable methacrylic acid diester of a saturated aliphatic dihydric alcohol, a volatile organic solvent and not more than 1 per cent of water by weight, the cellulose nitrate and the diester being present in the relative proportions of 5-95 per cent and 95-5 per cent by weight respectively, but preferably in the relative proportions of 10-60 per cent and 90-40 per cent. Optional ingredients such as plasticizers, resins, e.g. oil-modified alkyd resins, polyester resins, polyvinyl acetals or acrylic resins, cellulose esters and ethers, pigments, e.g. silica, and dyes may also be present. Suitable dihydric alcohols for the preparation of the diester are the polymethylene or polyethylene glycols or glycol mixtures with an average molecular weight of 62-400, preferably 90-200. Suitable grades of cellulose nitrate are specified. The solvents may be the lower aliphatic monohydric alcohols and their acetic acid esters, e.g. butyl acetate, hydrocarbons, e.g. toluene, and the lower aliphatic monoethers of ethylene glycols and their acetic acid esters; they should be ketone-free. The non-volatile film-forming content of the composition may be 5-75 per cent, preferably 10-50 per cent. Polymerization catalysts such as cobalt or other metal salts, benzoyl peroxide, a ,a 1-azodiisobutyronitrile or tert.-butyl perbenzoate, may be incorporated in the composition, as may also polymerization inhibitors such as hydroquinone, to prevent gelation during storage. The compositions of the invention are especially suitable for coating wood. Specifications 461,979, [Group IV], and 654,446 are referred to.