provided are compositions of matter which exist in a powdered , free - flowing form to which water is added preferable just prior to the time of use , to yield flowable liquid compositions which are spreadable , dispersible or sprayable onto various substrates . in some embodiments such free - flowing compositions contain water - soluble styrene / acrylic acid copolymers , and can surprisingly comprise relatively large amounts of water on the order of about 20 % or more , while remaining in the form of a free - flowing powder prior to their combination with additional water to yield the spreadable , dispersible or sprayable liquid compositions . by the present disclosure , shelf life concerns are eliminated , as the compositions provided have an essentially indefinite shelf life , and transportation and handling ease are greatly increased over prior art compositions due to less weight by the absence of large relative quantities of water present in prior art compositions .