Ion-exchanged, crosslinking latex paints

In a process for producing an ambient dry painted substrate, including the step of producing an emulsion polymer binder by copolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers in an aqueous polymerization medium, and in the presence of surfactants and initiators, the improvement comprising:

• compolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers, including beta-hydroxy ester monomer, but excluding amine monomers, to produce a functionally reactive, self-curing emulsion polymer containing pendant beta-hydroxy ester chains, where the functionally reactive emulsion polymer copolymerized monomers comprising on a weight basis between 1% and 50% beta-hydroxyl ester monomers, between 1% and 99% acrylic monomer, with the balance being other ethylenically unsaturated monomers which are in ert to the curing reaction as defined below
• treating the functionally reactive emulsion polymer by contact with an ion exchange resin to remove cations from the functional emulsion polymer and produce a pH less than about 2. 5, where said functionally reactive emulsion polymer is adapted to be self-curing by transesterification reaction between hydroxyl groups and beta-ester groups on said pendant beta-hydroxy ester chains upon application of said paint coating to a substrate;
• and
• applying the paint coating to a substrate and coalescing the coating into a film and at ambient temperature curing the film by self-crosslinking the hydroxyl groups and the beat-ester groups on said beta-hydroxy ester chains on the self-curing emulsion polymer.