COIM FILCO waterborne film formers for glass, basalt, and carbon fiber sizing, plus composite, mat, and preform binders. Polyester, epoxy, epoxy-urethane, and polyurethane dispersion chemistries, matched to your matrix.
A fiber size is the coating applied to glass, basalt, or carbon filaments as they are drawn. The film former is the part of that size that forms a continuous film around the fiber. It does four jobs: it protects the filament during winding, weaving, and handling; it holds the strand together so it stays manageable; it keeps the fibers evenly distributed in the finished part; and it couples the fiber to the end-use resin so load transfers from the matrix into the reinforcement.
P.A.T. Products supplies COIM FILCO film formers and binders for North American composite and fiber manufacturing. COIM, an Italian manufacturer, makes the FILCO line as waterborne dispersions across several chemistries, plus powder binders for mat and as a binder for preforms. We supply samples to qualify and back every grade with documentation.
FILCO film formers are made in several chemistries because the right film former depends on the fiber and the matrix it has to bond to. The line is waterborne, with low VOC, and it spans:
Waterborne polyurethane dispersion. Tough, flexible, well-adhering film formers, several formulated specifically for polyamide (nylon) and other engineering-thermoplastic matrices.
Epoxy and epoxy-urethane. Film formers for epoxy and thermoset matrices and for carbon fiber, where epoxy-modified urethane chemistry protects and couples the fiber.
Polyester. Film formers for unsaturated-polyester and vinyl-ester systems, plus polyester powder binders for mat and polyester binders for use in preforms.
COIM publishes FILCO by application, because the process decides the film former before the chemistry does. Each page below carries the full grade table for that family: solids, average particle size, Tg and epoxy equivalent weight where COIM publishes them, with the feature note for every grade.
Values on those pages are COIM's published typical figures. Ask for the current technical data sheet on any grade and we will send it with the matching safety data sheet.
The most important choice in a size is whether the film former is compatible with the matrix resin. A compatible interface transfers load and resists moisture and fatigue; an incompatible one delaminates.
Epoxy and epoxy-urethane film formers pair with epoxy and many thermoset matrices and with carbon fiber. Polyester film formers pair with unsaturated-polyester and vinyl-ester systems. Polyurethane film formers are formulated for polyamide and engineering thermoplastics such as PBT, polycarbonate, and ABS. Tell us the fiber, the matrix, and the process, and we will point you to the film former that fits.
Carbon fiber gets its own film-former family. The FILCO carbon fiber range covers epoxy, modified epoxy, epoxy novolac, epoxy-ester, and polyurethane chemistries, supplied as waterborne emulsions and dispersions, most of them non-ionic and two of them anionic. Non-ionic is the classic default on carbon: the surface-treated filament is oxidized and charged, and a non-ionic emulsion stays stable in the size bath against it. The anionic polyurethane grades are built for that bath too, with high shear stability, and add electrostatic dissipation that works against fuzz and fly on chopping and converting lines. Particle sizes start around 200 nanometers, fine enough to coat individual filaments a few microns across.
Selection runs on three axes. First the matrix, same as any size: epoxy film formers for epoxy prepreg, filament winding, and pultrusion; higher molecular weight epoxy grades for thermoplastic matrices such as PET, PBT, and polycarbonate; polyurethane dispersions built on polycaprolactone polyols for polyamide 6. Second the glass transition temperature, which sets the hand of the sized tow: the range runs from roughly minus 20 up to plus 40 degrees C, from soft grades that keep tow flexible for chopping, spooling, and textile handling, to stiff grades that hold a compact, stable bundle. Third the temperature the size will see downstream: epoxy novolac grades carry higher functionality for higher-temperature demands. For melt processing at PPS and PEEK temperatures, the line carries FILCO 8902, a modified epoxy built for high heat resistance at 57 percent solids, whose dried film loses only 5 percent of its mass at 385 degrees C and needs no curing after drying. Standard epoxy film formers are not suitable at those temperatures.
COIM's current carbon range publishes thirteen epoxy and UPE grades, laddered very soft to very stiff with a heat-resistance number on each, tabled on the FILCO carbon fiber film formers page, and twenty-nine polyurethane dispersions for polyamide and engineering-thermoplastic matrices with dried-film stiffness published per grade, tabled on the polyurethane film formers page. The same range serves re-sizing: recovered carbon fiber comes out of pyrolysis with no sizing at all, and converted fiber sometimes needs an additional coat over the original size. Both are covered in re-sizing recycled and converted carbon fiber, the selection logic is walked through in choosing a film former for carbon fiber sizing, and what the film former does to chopping behavior is in sizing, chopping, and blade life in carbon fiber converting.
Film formers for chopped strand, roving, and continuous-filament glass, tuned to the matrix and to the handling the line needs.
Surface treatment for basalt reinforcement, where urethane chemistry pairs well with polyamide and other matrices.
Epoxy, epoxy novolac, epoxy-ester, and PU film formers in waterborne emulsion and dispersion, for virgin fiber lines and for re-sizing recycled or converted carbon fiber.
Sizes selected for the matrix and the downstream process, from compounding to weaving to direct-draw roving.
Styrene-soluble powder binders for chopped-strand mat that dissolves into the resin, and insoluble binders for continuous-filament mat that holds its form.
Polyester powder binders that hold a chopped or directed-fiber preform in shape through handling and into the mold, ahead of resin transfer molding and compression molding.
Hold reinforcement in place and bond fiber to resin in SMC and BMC, pultrusion, filament winding, and lamination.
Sizing for glass-reinforced polyamide and other long-fiber and chopped-strand thermoplastic compounds used in structural and under-hood parts.
Waterborne binders that saturate and bond nonwoven webs for strength, drape, and durability.
Sized fiber feeds four growing end-markets.
Composite rebar. Glass and basalt fiber-reinforced rebar, made by pultrusion, is the largest glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer segment and is replacing steel where corrosion is the problem, in bridges, marine, and coastal work.
Wind-turbine blades. Every longer blade consumes more sized glass roving and fabric, a high-volume, quality-critical use.
EV lightweighting. Battery-tray, underbody, and structural composites are pulling glass and carbon demand specifically in electric vehicles.
Glass-reinforced polyamide. Polyurethane film formers built for nylon matrices feed the reinforced thermoplastics in engine covers, mounts, and brackets.
FILCO film formers are water-based with low VOC and a milder safety and handling profile than solvent systems. APEO-free and NMP-free or NEP-free grades are available for restricted-substance requirements, and food-contact-compliant grades exist for packaging-adjacent composites. Tell us the specifications you have to meet and we will confirm a grade against them and supply the Technical Data Sheet, Safety Data Sheet, and the compliance documentation your customer asks for.
P.A.T. Products supplies FILCO film formers and binders to fiber producers and composite manufacturers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Samples are available to qualify a grade on your line, and we arrange shipments sized to your run.
Technical Data Sheets and Safety Data Sheets are available for every grade, and a Certificate of Analysis ships with each lot covering solids, pH, and the properties your process depends on. If you are qualifying a replacement for a film former you buy now, tell us the fiber, the matrix, the chemistry, and the process, and we can match it.
The film former is the part of a fiber size that forms a continuous film around the filaments. It protects the fiber during winding, weaving, and handling, holds the strand together so it stays manageable, ensures even fiber distribution in the part, and couples the fiber to the end-use resin so load transfers from the matrix into the reinforcement.
Match the film-former chemistry to the matrix. Epoxy and epoxy-urethane film formers pair with epoxy and many thermoset matrices and with carbon fiber. Polyester film formers pair with unsaturated-polyester and vinyl-ester systems. Polyurethane film formers are formulated for polyamide (nylon) and other engineering-thermoplastic matrices such as PBT, PC, and ABS. Tell us the fiber, the matrix, and the process, and we will recommend a grade and send a sample.
A waterborne polyurethane dispersion is polyurethane finely dispersed in water instead of dissolved in solvent. It dries into a tough, flexible, well-adhering film with very low VOC, which is why it is displacing solvent-based polyurethane in fiber sizing and binders under tightening emissions rules. As a film former it gives the flexibility and adhesion that protect filaments and couple them to the matrix, with a milder safety and handling profile than a solvent system.
Film formers are tuned to the process. Chopped-strand and roving sizes use waterborne film formers selected for the matrix and the handling the line needs. Chopped-strand mat and continuous-filament mat use binders, including styrene-soluble powder binders for mats that dissolve into the resin and insoluble binders for mats that hold their form. Preforms use polyester powder binders that hold the fiber in shape into the mold. Tell us whether you run chopped strand, roving, mat, or preform, and the downstream process, and we will match the product.
Yes. Polyester powder binders hold a chopped or directed-fiber preform in shape through handling and into the mold, then behave predictably with the infusing resin in resin transfer molding and compression molding. They come from the same FILCO line as the mat binders. Tell us the fiber, the preforming method, and the matrix, and we will match a grade and send a sample.
The line is waterborne with low VOC, and APEO-free and NMP-free or NEP-free grades are available. Tell us the specifications you have to meet, including VOC limits and restricted-substance lists, and we will confirm a grade against them and supply the documentation. Food-contact-compliant grades exist for packaging-adjacent composites.
Yes. Samples are available to qualify a film former or binder, with Technical Data Sheets and Safety Data Sheets for every grade and a Certificate of Analysis per lot covering solids, pH, and the spec your process needs. If you are qualifying a replacement for a film former you run now, tell us the fiber, the matrix, the chemistry, and the process and we can match it.
Yes. The carbon fiber range covers epoxy, modified epoxy, epoxy novolac, epoxy-ester, and polyurethane chemistries as waterborne emulsions and dispersions, most non-ionic and two anionic, with glass transition temperatures from roughly minus 20 to plus 40 degrees C and particle sizes from about 200 nanometers. Grades are selected by matrix, by the hand the tow needs, and by the temperature the size will see downstream.
Yes, FILCO 8902. Standard epoxy film formers are not suitable at PEEK and PPS melt temperatures. FILCO 8902 is a modified epoxy built for high heat resistance at 57 percent solids, its dried film loses only 5 percent of its mass at 385 degrees C, and it needs no curing after drying. Tell us the matrix, the process, and the temperatures the size has to survive, and we will send the data sheet and a sample for the trial.
Yes, and it usually has to be. Fiber recovered by pyrolysis comes out with no sizing, which makes it hard to handle, chop, and feed, and leaves it poorly coupled to the matrix. Applying a fresh film former restores bundle integrity and matrix adhesion. The grade follows the destination matrix, the same selection logic as virgin fiber.
