•Nano ZnO reduced flow time of waterborne polyacrylate coating and increased pH.•Nano ZnO decreased elongation of waterborne polyacrylate coating.•Nano TiO2 and ZnO caused chemical changes in coating after accelerated exposure.•Nano TiO2 and ZnO increased colour stability of waterborne polyacrylate coating. The rapid development of nanotechnology allowed implementation of metal oxide nanoparticles in coatings and protection of coatings without significant influence on transparency. To avoid negative impact on coating properties it is important that nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed and that the emulsion of nanoparticles is compatible with the components in coating. In this article the effect of TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles on properties of polyacrylate waterborne coating and on stability of coating films exposed to outdoor conditions are studied. The results of this research show that ZnO nanoparticles reduce flow time of waterborne polyacrylate coating and increase pH. Furthermore, TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles increase colour stability of waterborne polyacrylate coating. Moreover TiO2 nanoparticles have a great impact on increase of Tg, and ZnO nanoparticles on decrease of elongation and thereby on increase of brittleness of waterborne polyacrylate coating.