Floor finish composition and components thereof

An aqueous emulsion floor finish composition having a dispersed solids content of from 8% to 45% by weight, based on the total weight of the composition, said solids content comprising (1) from 10 to 95% of a water insoluble emulsion polymer component comprising the emulsion polymerization reaction product of from about 5 to about 40% by weight alpha methylstyrene, from about 5 to about 40% by weight styrene and from about 20 to about 90% of other copolymerizable monoethylenically unsaturated monomers, based on the combined weight of monomers charged;

• (2) from 5 to 90% wax component;
• (3) from 10 to 40% of an alkali soluble resin component;
• and (4) from 0.5 to 20% of surfactant.

A method of making an improved floor finish composition, said method comprising polymerizing a mixture of from about 5 to about 40% by weight of alpha methylstyrene, from about 5 to about 40% by weight of styrene, from about 10 to about 90% by weight of a polymer made from one or more monomers of the class consisting of acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, and the esters of such acids, in emulsion form, in the presence of from about 0.2 up to about 10% by weight of a surface active agent, thereby forming a water insoluble emulsion polymer composition, and adding to said composition from about 10 up to about 90% by weight, based on the weight of said polymer composition, of a wax material, and further adding from about 5 to about 40% by weight, based on the combined weight of said emulsion polymer composition and said wax material, of an alkali soluble resin material, said components being diluted with water so as to provide, in the completed floor finish composition, a solids content of from about 8 to about 45% by weight of the entire composition.