Abstract:
Glass fibres are dyed or printed with pigments using as a binder a film-forming polymer which becomes cross-linked under the influence of a proton-acceptor and using an amino-silane or a hydrocarbon wax as an agent having hydrophobic action to promote adhesion between the binder and the glass surface, the process being carried out in the presence of a proton-acceptor, and the treated fibres being finally dried and heated. The polymers are those having groups, for example amino or hydroxy groups, which by means of proton acceptors can enter into covalent bonds with themselves or other groups. The preferred polymers are copolymers bearing hydrocarbon radicals as side chains in which a halogen atom and a hydroxyl group are attached to two adjacent carbon atoms, particularly a polymer obtained by co-polymerising 2-hydroxy-3-chloropropyl acrylate with other monomers. The proton-acceptor may be an alkali metal hydroxide, carbonate or bicarbonate, amonia or an organic amine; it may be provided as the alkali present in the glass. The glass fibres may be treated as such, mixed with other fibres or in the form of fabric. In the treatment, the various components can be applied separately or in combination. Examples illustrate the use of copper phthalocyanine, azo dyes and carbon black as the pigments.