Fibrous mat facer with improved strike-through resistance

A porous non-woven fabric mat for use as a facer, substrate or carrier for receiving a curable substance while in the fluid state, said mat comprising of a blend dispersed substantially randomly oriented fibers and a binder for holding said blend of fibers together;

• said blend of fibers comprising a minor amount of microfibers intermixed with said base fibers,
• said base fibers having a mean diameter of between eight (8) microns and about twenty-five (25) microns,
• said binder comprising a water miscible combination of a heat settable binder resin and an effective amount of a wet proofing polymer compatible with said heat settable resin,
• said wet proofing polymer selected from a group consisting of a water based silicone elastomer emulsion and a fluorchemical emulsion,
• said mat being permeable to air but having a Frazier Air Permeability of not more than about two hundred and twenty-five (225) cubic feet per minute, the mat having a thickness of between about ten (10) mils and about sixty (60) mil.

A laminate comprising a coating of a curable substance adhered to at least one surface of a mat, said mat comprising a blend of dispersed substantially randomly oriented fibers and a binder for holding said blend of fibers together;

• said blend of fibers comprising a minor amount of microfibers intermixed with base fibers,
• said base fibers having a mean diameter of between eight (8) microns and about twenty-five (25) microns,
• said binder comprising a water miscible combination of a heat settable binder resin and an effective amount of a wet proofing polymer compatible with said heat settable resin,
• said wet proofing polymer selected from a group consisting of a water based silicone elastomer emulsion and a fluorochemical emulsion,
• said mat being permeable to air but having a Frazier Air Permeability of no more than about two hundred and twenty-five (225) cubic feet per minute, the mat having a thickness of between about ten (10) mils and about sixty (60) mil.

A laminate comprising a coating of a curable substance adhered to at least one surface of a mat, said mat comprising:

• a blend of dispersed substantially randomly oriented fibers and a binder for holding said blend of fibers together;
• said blend of fibers comprising a minor amount of microfibers intermixed with said base fibers,
• said base fibers having a mean diameter of between eight (8) microns and about twenty-five (25) microns,
• said binder comprising a water miscible combination of a heat settable binder resin and an effective amount of a wet proofing polymer compatible with said heat settable resin,
• said wet proofing polymer selected from a group consiting of a water based silicone elastomer emulsion and a fluorochemical emulsion,
• said mat being permeable to air but having a Frazier Air Permeability of between about forty (40) and about two hundred and twenty-five (225) cubic feet per minute, the mat having a thickness of between about ten (10) mils and about sixty (60) mils.