Wood protection paints

1. A wood protection paint comprising a copolymer emulsion prepared by an emulsion polymerization process comprising:

(a) polymerizing, in a first stage and under ethylene pressure, a first monomer composition comprising from 60 weight percent to 95 weight percent of at least one vinyl ester, and from 5 weight percent to 40 weight percent ethylene to produce a first stage product having a glass transition temperature T g of less than 25° C.; and

(b) polymerizing, in a second stage and in the presence of said first stage product, a second monomer composition such that the polymer produced by said second monomer composition has a glass transition temperature T g of at least 95° C.

2. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the vinyl ester is vinyl acetate.

3. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the copolymer produced by said first monomer composition has a glass transition temperature T g in the range of 5° C. to 15° C.

4. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the first monomer composition further comprises from 0.05 weight percent to 5 weight percent of at least one of an ethylenically unsaturated mono- and/or dicarboxylic acid, an ethylenically unsaturated sulfonic acid, an ethylenically unsaturated phosphoric acid, an ethylenically unsaturated phosphonic acid, and an amide of an ethylenically unsaturated mono- and/or dicarboxylic acid.

5. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer produced by said second monomer composition has a glass transition temperature T g from 95 to 170° C.

6. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer produced by said second monomer composition has a glass transition temperature T g from 95° C. to 160° C.

7. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer produced by said second monomer composition has a glass transition temperature T g from 95° C. to 150° C.

8. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the second monomer composition comprises at least 90 weight percent of a meth(acrylic) ester or a mixture of at least two different (meth)acrylic esters.

9. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the second monomer composition comprises at least 90 weight percent of methyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, isobornyl methacrylate or a mixture thereof.

10. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the second monomer composition comprises at least 90 weight percent of a mixture of methyl methacrylate with an acrylic ester selected from the group consisting of butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate.

11. A wood protection paint according to claim 8 , wherein the second monomer composition further comprises from 0.05 weight percent to 5 weight percent of at least one of an ethylenically unsaturated mono- and/or dicarboxylic acid, an ethylenically unsaturated sulfonic acid, an ethylenically unsaturated phosphoric acid, an ethylenically unsaturated phosphonic acid, and an amide of an ethylenically unsaturated mono- and/or dicarboxylic acid.

12. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of the first monomer composition to the second monomer composition is in the range 60:40 to 95:5.

13. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second monomer compositions further comprise an anionic emulsifier.

14. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second monomer compositions further comprise a nonionic emulsifier.

15. A wood protection paint according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one pigment.