n phenyl ethanolamine dinitrobenzene picric acid p nitrosodimethyl aniline diphenylnitrosamine tetramethyl thiuram disulphide 2 mercaptobenzthiazole the sodium salt of dimethyl dithiocarbamic acid and phenols such as p tert butyl catechol 2 5 di tert amyl hydroquinone p alkoxyphenols and di tert butylhydro quinone in a preferred embodiment of the process according to the invention an oxygen containing gas preferably air or mixtures of oxygen and inert gases is passed through the solvent containing reaction mixture in accordance with the process according to the invention esterification of the meth acrylic acid is carried out at a temperature of 60 to 140 u00b0 c preferably 70 to 120 u00b0 c and more preferably at the boiling point of the solvent during the reaction solvent is continuously removed by distillation from the reaction mixture separated from entrained water in a water separator outside the reaction vessel and then recycled to the reaction mixture the end of the reaction is reached when no more water of reaction is entrained from the reaction vessel after the esterification reaction is complete the reaction of the ethylenically unsaturated epoxy compound is carried out preferably after distilling off the water immiscible solvent examples of ethylenically unsaturated mono epoxy compounds which can be used according to the invention include glycidyl acrylate 2 3 epoxypropyl acrylate glycidyl methacrylate 2 3 epoxypropyl methacrylate and the addition products of 1 mole of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid with bis epoxy compounds such as hexanediol bisglycidyl ether bisphenol a bis.