Because it is a water-white, nonyellowing, tack-free material, CAB is useful alone or in combination with other resins as a film former in solventborne paints and in paint emulsions for leather topcoats. CAB is used worldwide in topcoats for leather items such as automotive upholstery, footwear, and furniture. These topcoats containing CAB are tough and have good resistance to abrasion and plasticizer migration.
Eastman CAB can contribute slip and hand to topcoats of various thicknesses over fine or less expensive leathers. CAB remains stable and will not degrade or yellow in the presence of the amine accelerators found in polyurethane shoe soles and polyurethane upholstery foam. On contact with vinyl, CAB will not extract plasticizers. Compared with other cellulosic film formers, Eastman CAB has excellent light stability; thus, it can be used over white or other light-colored basecoats.