Patent ID: 7329435

Claim:
A method for coating a filamentous article comprising applying a voided or otherwise substantially uneven coating to at least some of the exposed portion of a filamentous article and passing the substantially unevenly-coated filamentous article through an improvement station comprising a plurality of coating-wetted rolls that contact and re-contact the wet coating at different positions along the length of the filamentous article, each of said rolls having a period of contact with the filamentous article defined as the time to rotate between the entry point of the filamentous article onto the roll and the coating liquid lift-off point, wherein the filamentous article has a direction of motion, the direction of rotation of at least one of the rolls is the same as the direction of motion, at least one of the rolls has grooves aligned in the direction of motion of the filamentous article and through which the filamentous article passes as it moves through the improvement station, and the improvement station improves the uniformity of the coating.