A coated abrasive article comprises a backing, a first binder on the backing, and a plurality of abrasive particles in the first binder. The first binder precursor is an energy-curable preferably, melt-processable resin containing an epoxy resin, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and a curing agent for crosslinking the epoxy resin that is cured to provide a crosslinked make coating. The above binder precursors of the invention are preferably free of homopolymers and copolymers of olefinic monomers. In another aspect, the invention also describes an energy curable first binder precursor containing an epoxy resin, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, a polyfunctional acrylate component and a curing agent for crosslinking the epoxy resin that is cured to provide a crosslinked make coating. The invention also relates to a method of producing such coated abrasive articles and a surface-treated backing material.