Coating and calendaring of 2-dimensionally tensioned fabric

The method of coating a flexible fabric having nubs on its surface with a coating of synthetic heat curable plastic material to produce on one side of the fabric a smooth and uniform coating thereover covering the nubs, comprising the steps of:

• drawing the fabric through a treating path while longitudinally tensioning the fabric;
• gripping the fabric along its edges while passing through said path and tensioning the fabric transversely of said path;
• applying a first coating of heat curable plastic material to said one side of said fabric;
• heat curing within said path said first coating on said fabric and calendering said one side of the fabric and first coating to cause the nubs within the cured coating to be essentially uniform in height, while maintaining said longitudinal and transverse tensioning;
• applying a second coating of heat curable plastic material within said path to the same side of the fabric sufficient to fill the surface of the first coating to include said height of the calendered nubs while the fabric and first coating are still heated, and calendering said fabric and second coating while maintaining said longitudinal and transverse tensioning;
• heat curing within said path said second coating on said fabric while maintaining said longitudinal and transverse tensioning;
• and
• then releasing said tensioning and rolling up the coated fabric.