The invention includes fibrous nonwoven multiple layer mats having at least two layers with a body portion layer and a surface portion layer having fine fibers and/or particles therein, both layers being bonded together and to each other with a same resin binder. Preferably most or essentially all of the particles and/or fibers in the surface layer are larger than openings between the fibers in the body portion of the mat. The mats produced according to this invention are useful as a facer for all types of boards such as wood boards, wood product boards, insulating boards and hard boards of all types, and also as reinforcement and dimensional stabilizers for making a large number of novel laminate products and for a myriad of other uses. These mats are made an a wet laid nonwoven mat machine with a modification to the binder preparation system, an inventive step in the preparation of the binder and in the selection of ingredients for a binder slurry.

A compressed sheet comprises: base fibers constituted by inorganic fibers other than asbestos, or organic fibers, or a combination of both; a rubber; rubber chemicals; and fillers. In the compressed sheet a material with both smoothing and reinforcing effects is exposed at least to one of the surfaces of the compressed sheet. A method of manufacturing a compressed sheet comprises the steps of processing a composition for forming the compressed sheet by feeding it into a pair of rolls comprising a hot roll and a cold roll, thereby laminating the composition into a sheet-shaped material on the hot roll, and then peeling off the sheet-shaped laminated material. In this method the composition is fed into the rolls such that a material with both smoothing and reinforcing effects is exposed at least to that surface of the sheet-shaped laminated material which faces the cold roll.

A fibrous nonwoven mat particularly suited for hiding the color of a substrate when the mat is bonded to the substrate is made by forming a web of fibers from a wet fibrous slurry, saturating the mat with a resinous binder containing 1-20 weight percent of a paper coating material, removing excess binder from the mat to produce a mat having a resin binder content of 5-25 weight percent and drying the mat. The mat has high hiding power for substrates like board or blanket of fiber glass insulation and other colored materials.

This invention relates to a low fiber, plyable facer suitable for use in the construction industry, particularly for insulation board manufacture, comprising a dry preformed fiber mat containing a binder for the fibers, preferably a preformed glass mat, coated with a prefoamed composition which contains a thixotropic polymer latex, a foam sustaining amount of a surfactant and a flame retarding and/or strengthening amount of a mineral filler and also to the use and process for the preparation of the above as well as to a siding underlayment or insulation board having a foamed, thermosetting resin core which is surfaced with said facer as a product for commercial use.

For the production of sandwich structure elements comprising non-cellular polyurethane layers and polyurethane foamed layers which are produced on a substrate by the application of layers to a substrate, it is proposed that at least the non-cellular polyurethane layers contain 15 to 55% by weight of mica. Sandwich structure elements are obtained which are particularly dimensionally accurate and which adhere well. The effect is believed to be based on a non-homogeneous curing reaction of the mixture which reacts to form polyurethane, due to the presence of mica.