Coating of papermaking fabrics

Claim 1

A process for treating papermaking fabrics, comprising the steps of: providing an untreated woven fabric having front and back surfaces, said fabric also having openings between yarns of the fabric and an air permeability value of between approximately 175 and 800 CFM; reducing the air permeability value of the fabric to a level between approximately 30 and 150 CFM; the reducing step including: coating the fabric on only said back surface with a thickened liquid resin mixture having a viscosity of between 1,000 and 5,000 centipoise, impregnating the fabric with the thickened resin mixture so as to form a continuous resin film over said openings while maintaining said front surface substantially uncoated, and drying the coated fabric until the liquid content of the film evaporates whereupon the film breaks and pops open in said openings; whereby the reduced air permeability level of the fabric greatly diminishes any fluttering effect when the fabric is used in the dryer section of a papermaking machine, and whereby any marring of a paper web in contact with the uncoated front surface of the fabric is substantially avoided.