Styrenation of drying and semidrying oils, namely sunflower and linseed oils, via the macromer technique was studied. For this purpose, the macromonomers of the oils were prepared by transesterification of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with the corresponding partial glycerides (PG). Subsequent styrenation was achieved by free radical copolymerization of the macromonomers with styrene using benzoyl peroxide as the initiator. The viscosity and the film properties of the products were studied and compared. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.