Patent ID: 8202578

Claim:
A method of making topcoated fiber cement articles, which method comprises: providing an unattached fiber cement board substrate having a first major surface; providing a topcoat coating composition comprising a multistage latex polymer having a soft stage Tg such that that the coating composition will coalesce at a Minimum Film Forming Temperature (MFFT) between about 0 and about 55° C. without requiring more than 10% Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) for acceptable film formation, and a hard stage Tg such that cement board substrates topcoated with the coating composition may be stacked without exhibiting evidence of crush damage; applying the coating composition to at least a portion of the first major surface; drying or otherwise hardening the coating composition to form a crush resistant final topcoat that is color change resistant when exposed outdoors; and wherein the final topcoat has a Crush Resistance value of at least 3 when two face-to-face coated embossed fiber cement board substrates are subjected to a pressure of about 6 kg/cm 2 ; and stacking more than two of the thus-coated boards on a pallet or other horizontal supporting surface.