Retroreflective article comprising water-borne acrylic topcoats

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises,retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat consists essentially of at least one dried and optionally cured water-borne acrylic polymer and the topcoat has a hardness when tested with nanoindentation of at least 0.1 GPa.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat consists essentially of at least one dried and optionally cured water-borne acrylic polymer and the topcoat has an energy per volume at break of greater than 30 ft*lbf/in3.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat consists essentially of at least one dried and optionally cured water-borne acrylic polymer and the topcoat has at least two second heat midpoint glass transition temperatures according to ASTM E 1356-98 wherein the first glass transition temperature ranges from about 70° C. to about 95° C. and the second glass transition temperature ranges from about 0° C. to about 35° C.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat consists essentially of at least one dried and optionally cured water-borne acrylic polymer and the topcoat has at least three second heat midpoint glass transition temperatures according to ASTM E-1356-98 wherein the first glass transition temperature ranges from about 90° C. to about 95° C., the second glass transition ranges from about 120° C. to about 130° C., and the third glass transition is less than −5° C.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat is derived from a composition comprising at least about 50 wt-% solids of at least one water-borne acrylic polymer wherein the dried and cured polymer has an elastic modulus when tested with nanoindentation ranging from 0.2 GPa to 2.0 GPa.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat is derived from a composition comprising at least about 50 wt-% solids of at least one water-borne acrylic polymer wherein the dried and cured polymer has a hardness when tested with nanoindentation of at least 0.1 GPa.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat is derived from a composition comprising at least about 50 wt-% solids of at least one water-borne acrylic polymer wherein the dried polymer has an energy per volume at break of greater than 15 ft*lbf/in3.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat is derived from a composition comprising at least about 50 wt-% solids of at least one water-borne acrylic polymer wherein the dried and optionally cured polymer has at least two second heat midpoint glass transition temperatures according to ASTM E 1356-98 wherein the first glass transition temperature ranges from about 70° C. to about 95° C. and the second glass transition temperature ranges from about 0° C. to about 35° C.

A retroreflective article comprising

• a core sheet having a viewing surface wherein the core sheeting comprises retroreflective elements;
• and
• a topcoat disposed on the viewing surface;
• wherein the topcoat is derived from a composition comprising at least about 50 wt-% solids of at least one water-borne acrylic polymer wherein the dried and optionally cured polymer has at least three second heat midpoint glass transition temperatures according to ASTM E 1356-98 wherein the first glass transition temperature ranges from about 90° C. to about 95° C., the second glass transition ranges from about 120° C. to about 130° C., and the third glass transition is less than −5° C.

A method of making a retroreflective article comprising:

• providing core sheet comprising retroreflective elements having a viewing surface and an opposing surface;
• applying an aqueous topcoat composition to said viewing surface;
• and
• drying and optionally curing the topcoat;
• wherein the topcoat composition consists essentially of at least one water-borne acrylic polymer and the dried and optionally cured topcoat composition has an elastic modulus when tested with nanoindentation ranging from 0.2 GPa to 2.0 GPa.