Leather coating compositions having improved embossability

The present invention provides aqueous compositions of one or more divalent metal crosslinked aqueous carboxylic acid group containing acrylic polymer having a Tg of @10° C. and one or more acrylic oligomer of a molecular weight of 20,000 or less and having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of equal to or lower than the Tg of the aqueous carboxylic acid group containing acrylic polymer. IN addition, the present invention provides methods of forming such compositions by polymerizing the aqueous carboxylic acid group containing acrylic polymer as a first stage of a multi-stage polymerization, followed by polymerizing the acrylic oligomer in the second or a subsequent stage by polymerizing the monomers in the in second or a subsequent stage in the presence of a chain transfer agent. Preferably, the compositions are used in soft feel applications to coat leather for, for example, furniture for home use and upholstery for automotive use.