Process for preparing dry mix brake lining

Claim 1

In a dry mix process for forming an organic brake lining, comprising: (A) blending a mixture of dry finely divided phenolic resin particles with dry particulate brake lining friction materials and (B) molding and curing the resulting blend at a temperature in the range of about 275° to about 325° F. and at a pressure of about 250 to about 50,000 psi to bond the resin and friction particles into a unitary brake lining, the improvement comprising, prior to step (A), forming a rubber coating on said phenolic resin particles by (1) forming a slurry of said phenolic resin particles having a particle size of less than about 325 Tyler mesh with water containing sufficient sulfuric acid and alum to have a pH in the range of about 4 to about 6 at the end of the following step (2), (2) mixing said aqueous resin slurry with an aqueous styrene/butadiene rubber latex to coagulate said rubber latex onto said resin particles to form finely divided rubber coated resin particles, (3) adding styrene/butadiene resin to further coat said coagulated rubber coated phenolic resin particles and to prevent surface tack thereon, and (4) drying said finely divided coated phenolic resin particles for use in said step (A).