the term “ hydroxyl number ” or “ hydroxyl value ” which is also called “ acetyl value ” is a number which indicates the extent to which a substance may be acetylated ; it is the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide required for neutralization of the acetic acid liberated on saponifying 1 g of acetylated sample . the hydroxyl number units are mg koh / gram of plasticizer . procedures for determining the hydroxyl number of chemical compositions are known . one procedure is described in astm test method e 222 - 00 . essentially all the contribution to hydroxyl number comes from monoesters of diols . as used herein , the term “ plastisol ” refers to liquid polymer compositions comprising a particulate form of at least one organic polymer suspended in a liquid medium that includes at least one plasticizer for the polymer and at least one liquid organic compound that functions as a diluent . plastisols containing a total of more than about five weight percent of one or more of these liquid diluents in addition to the required plasticizers are also referred to as “ organosols ”. as used herein , the term “ miscible ” means a liquid which is dissolved or is soluble in a liquid . “ dissolved ” means that the material which is dissolved does not exist in a liquid in particulate form having at least about 5 weight percent particles having diameters greater than about 30 nm which are as measured by dynamic light scattering . “ soluble ” means a liquid dissolved in a liquid or a solid dissolved in a liquid . any of the known polymers that can be formulated into a plastisol can be used to prepare plastisols in accordance with the present invention . the polymers constituting the dispersed phase of the present plastisols include polymers of ethylenically unsaturated organic monomers and mixtures of these monomers that can be prepared by a free radical - initiated emulsion polymerization . suitable monomers include but are not limited to 1 ) ethylenically unsaturated halocarbons such as vinyl chloride , 2 ) ethylenically unsaturated acids such as acrylic and methacrylic acids and esters thereof with alcohols containing up to eight or more carbon atoms . homopolymers and copolymers of vinyl chloride and the homo - and copolymers of esters of acrylic and methacrylic acid are preferred based on their wide range of commercial applicability in plastisols containing esters of benzoic acid as the plasticizer . vinyl chloride polymers means vinyl chloride homo - and copolymers , the latter containing at least 50 % by weight of vinyl chloride and at least one monomer which is copolymerizable with vinyl chloride . the copolymerizable monomers are those generally employed in the traditional methods of copolymerization of vinyl chloride . by way of examples there may be mentioned the vinyl esters of mono - and polycarboxylic acids , such as vinyl acetate , propionate and benzoate , unsaturated mono - and polycarboxylic acids such as acrylic , methacrylic , maleic , fumaric and itaconic acids , and their aliphatic , cycloaliphatic and aromatic esters , their amides , and their nitrites , alkyl , vinyl and vinylidene halides , and alkyl vinyl ethers . the vinyl chloride polymers employed within the scope of the present invention are preferably vinyl chloride homopolymers , copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate and mixtures of these copolymers with each other or with a vinyl chloride homopolymer . vinyl chloride polymers suitable for preparing the present plastisols are classified according to particle size . dispersion grade resins typically exhibit particle sizes of from 0 . 5 to about 5 microns , and blending grade resins from about 10 to about 55 microns many of these plasticizers are esters of mono - and dicarboxylic acids . a detailed discussion of suitable plasticizers can be found in the technology of plasticizers , edited by j . kern sears and joseph r . darby , published by john wiley and sons ( 1982 ), which is incorporated herein by reference . plasticizers preferred for use in preparing the plastisols of the present invention include but are not limited to : diesters and monoesters of benzoic acid with dihydric alcohols , glycols and ethers of glycols , and diesters of phthalic acid and monohydric alcohols . monohydric alcohols suitable for preparing esters of phthalic acid contain from 1 to 8 or more carbon atoms in a linear or branched configuration and include but are not limited to methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , 2 - ethylhexyl , and isononyl alcohols . dihydric alcohols suitable for preparing esters of benzoic acid include but are not limited to propylene glycol and oligomeric ether glycols such as diethylene glycol , triethylene glycol , dipropylene glycol and 1 , 3 - butanediol and combination thereof . the benzoate and phthalate plasticizers can be used individually or in mixtures . mixtures of benzoic acid esters derived from the dimeric and / or trimeric glycol ethers of ethylene and propylene glycols are particularly preferred plasticizers for the present plastisol compositions . in addition to the plasticizers listed in the preceding section , which can also be referred to as primary plasticizers , the present plastisols can optionally include one or more auxiliary plasticizers which , while not effective plasticizers when used alone , act in combination with primary plasticizers to adjust the viscosity of the plastisol to the desired level . preferred secondary plasticizers are 1 ) liquid monobenzoates derived from benzoic acid and a monohydric alcohol such as 2 - ethylhexanol , isooctanol or isononanol and 2 ) liquid monobenzoates of diols , glycols and ethers of glycols containing from 2 to 8 or more carbon atoms , and 3 ) commercially available esters of diols , such as the mono - and diisobutyrates of 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol . the third component of the present plastisols is at least one organic diluent that is not a solvent for the polymer at the required concentration level . preferred diluents include hydrocarbons and ketones that are liquids at 25 ° c . liquid hydrocarbons are typically supplied as mixtures of aromatic and / or aliphatic hydrocarbons boiling within a specified temperature range . mixtures of cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons alone or in combination with linear and branched aliphatic hydrocarbons are suitable diluents for plastisols containing vinyl chloride and at least one glycol ester of benzoic acid as the primary plasticizer . the total concentration of all diluents is typically from about 2 to about 55 percent , preferably from about 10 to 50 percent , based on the total weight of the plasticizer and any other liquid ingredients present in the plastisol . in addition to the polymer , plasticizer and liquid diluent ( s ) plastisols may contain additional solid and / or liquid ingredients including but not limited to heat stabilizers such as the calcium and barium salts of fatty acids ; the plastisols of the present invention are useful in end - use applications requiring rapid application of a plastisol . these applications include but are not limited to 1 ) coatings that are applied onto metallic or non - metallic surfaces by dipping , spraying or the use of coating rollers and 2 ) as molding materials . the plastisols are particularly useful for coating on to layers of fabric , particularly those used in the construction of resilient floor coverings and wall coverings , and as spray coatings for metal surfaces . molding applications include but are not limited to fabrication of shaped articles by techniques referred to as “ slush molding ”, rotation molding and the use of both closed and open molds . the following examples are intended to illustrate the invention and not to limit it . all references cited in the present specification are hereby incorporated by reference . the plastisol formulas ( formulations 1 - 4 ) were prepared in a high shear mixer at 1250 rpm for ten minutes and degassed for 30 minutes while stirring at 200 rpm with vacuum maintained at less than 1 torr .