US3713878A

US3713878A - Textile finishing process and product produced thereby

Info

Publication number: US3713878A
Application number: US00090108A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Thomas
Original assignee: Milliken Research Corp
Current assignee: Milliken Research Corp
Priority date: 1970-11-16
Filing date: 1970-11-16
Publication date: 1973-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-30
Also published as: IT944945B; DE2156908A1; BE775380A; JPS4945759B1; LU64273A1; CH1655071D; FR2114009B1; FR2114009A1; NL7115783A

Abstract

This disclosure describes a process for producing vapor transmissible polymer coated textile fabrics, and, in addition, vapor transmissible water resistant fabrics. The vapor transmissible textile fabrics are prepared by applying to the fabric a composition comprising a polymer compound having particular film stiffening temperatures and a wax, and thereafter heating the fabric and the composition to a temperature of at least about 150*C. to volatilize some of the wax. The preparation of the vapor transmissible water resistant fabrics involves an additional and subsequent treatment with a water repellent composition followed by drying and, optionally, curing at a temperature of at least 150*C. These latter fabrics are particularly useful in the preparation of rainwear.

Description

United States Patent 1 Thomas 1 I Jan. 30, 1973 [54] TEXTILE FINISHING PROCESS AND PRODUCT PRODUCED THEREBY [75] Inventor: Manuel A. Thomas, Spartanburg,

[22] Filed: Nov. 16, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 90,108

[52] US. Cl. ..1l7/l35.5, 117/138 F, 117/l39.4, 117/161 UB, 117/161 UC, 117/161 UT [51] Int. Cl. ..C09d 5/00 [58] Field of Search ..117/135.5, 16] UB, 16] UC, 117/161 UT, 138.8 F; 260/29.6 TA, 29.6 T,

4/1965 Shippee etal. ..m/msx 4/1966 Caldwell etal .ll7/135.5

Primary Examiner-William D. Martin Assistant Examiner-Theodore G. Davis AttorneyNorman C. Armitage, H. William Petry and Armand P. Boisselle [57] ABSTRACT This disclosure describes a process for producing vapor transmissible polymer coated textile fabrics,

and, in addition, vapor transmissible water resistant fabrics. The vapor transmissible textile fabrics are prepared by applying to the fabric a composition comprising a polymer compound having particular film stiffening temperatures and a wax, and thereafter heating the fabric and the composition to a temperature of at least about 150C. to volatilize some of the wax. The preparation of the vapor transmissible water resistant fabrics involves an additional and subsequent treatment with a water repellent composition followed by drying and, optionally, curing at a temperature of at least 150C. These latter fabrics are particularly useful in the preparation of rainwear.

12 Claims, No Drawings TEXTILE FINISHING PROCESS AND PRODUCT PRODUCED THEREBY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a process for finishing textile materials and, more specifically, to a process for treating textile fabrics to provide fabrics having improved vapor transmission and optionally, water resistant characteristics. The invention also relates to the products prepared by these processes.

Considerable effort currently is being devoted in the industry to produce lightweight rainwear fabrics which have exceptional water resistance and air and vapor transmissibility without appreciable loss of aesthetic properties. Some of the currently used processes involves the application of polymeric or resinous compositions to textile fabrics to provide them with water resistant capabilities. Various chemical compounds such as vinyl, acrylic and urethane polymers as well as fluorocarbon and silicone chemicals have been employed to this end.

Many of the techniques and processes which have been utilized herefor have resulted in fabrics having excellent water resistant properties but lacking in vapor transmission. The absence of acceptable vapor transmission results in discomfort to the wearer of the garment and, therefore, considerable effort has been made to prepare textile fabrics having both of these desirable properties. A further requirement of the treatments applied to textile fabrics concerns the servicability of the finishes. The finishes should be permanent to laundering or dry cleaning. 7

Some prior art processes have employed leaching operations to form the necessary porosity in the chemical coatings applied to the fabrics. These processes involve the incorporation of such chemicals as starch or salts into the coatings which are subsequently leached out with various chemicals to produce the desired porosity. This, of course, requires additional chemicals and involves additional processing steps which add appreciably to the cost of producing the fabrics.

It has been suggested in U. S. Pat. No. 2,913,427 that water repellent articles can be prepared by treating textile substrates with a mixture comprising a solvent, copolymer, wax and a wax compatible hardening resin, and drying the fabric at room temperature or at a temperature up to about 83C. Fabrics prepared in this manner, however, do not exhibit generallyv acceptable vapor transmissible characteristics.

SUMMARY OFTHElNVENTlON These problems have been overcome by providing a process whereby textile fabrics are treated with a composition comprising a polymer compound having a film stiffening temperature between about 10 and 50C. and a wax having a melting point in the range between about to 90C., and heating the fabric and the composition to a temperature to at least about 150C. to volatilize some of the wax. Fabrics treated in accordance with this process exhibit improved vapor transmission. Where such fabrics are to be utilized in the preparation of rainwear, they are given an additional treatment with a. water repellent composition and dried at a temperature of about 150C. at which time additional wax is volatilized producing a porous and vapor transmissible coating on the fabric.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Any polymer compound having a film stiffening temperature between about -l0 and 50C. can be utilized in the process of this invention. The film stiffening temperature is a widely used criterion for characterizing the degree of softness of polymer systems and is the temperature at which the torsional modulus of an air dried film of the polymer is 300 kg/cm (ASTM 1053451; 35 mil film). Acrylic polymers are an example of the type of polymer which can be prepared having the desired film stiffening temperature characteristics. These polymers may be homopolymersor copolymers of acrylates having both ester groups and groups that are capable of cross-linking with the polymeric chain under properly catalyzed conditions. In general, the polymers utilized in this invention will have molecular weights ranging from several hundred, i.e., 300 to about 2,000,000, and will be comprised of an acrylic monomer having an ester group and a side chain group that is comprised of a compound having epoxide, carboxyl and/or methylol groups. Among the most preferred acrylates are the alkyl acrylate monomers such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, propyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, amyl acrylate, etc., including 12 carbon atom alkyl acrylates. Within this particular group, the butyl acrylate polymers havinga molecular weight in the range of 1,000 to 1,000,000 are preferred.

The above acrylic monomers may be reacted with copolymerizable compounds such as for example, glycidyl acrylate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylic anhydride, glycol esters of methacrylic acid, acrylamide and the methylol acrylamides.

The copolymerization of these acrylic monomers can i be carried out with persulfate or peroxide catalysts or with redox catalyst systems in accordance with well known procedures. Alternatively, self-crosslinking acrylic polymers maybe obtained from mixtures of acrylic esters with methylol acrylamides. Other copolymerizable monomers alsomay be present such as small amounts of acrylonitrile. The presence of the methylol acrylamide in the water-insoluble acrylic polymers provides the desirable self-crosslinking properties to the polymer thus enabling the application, deposition and curing of the polymer on the substrate without the necessity for including crosslinking of curing agents which might deleteriously affect the desirable properties of the coatings. Therefore, the acrylic polymer is designed to be, self-crosslinking by incorporating therein from about-0.5to5 percent by weight of a methylol acrylamide, based on the weight of the other polymerizable components of the monomer mixture. Generally, from about 2 to 3 percent of the methylol acrylamide is utilized.

Acrylonitrile often is included in the acrylic polymer mixture to improve the durability of the polymer to dry cleaning solvents. The acrylic polymer composition, therefore, often will comprise from about to parts of an acrylic ester, from two to 15 parts of acrylonitrile and from 0.5 to five parts, based on the combined weight of the acrylic ester and acrylonitrile, of a methylolacrylamide.

Examples of water-insoluble, self-crosslinking acrylic polymers which are preferred for use in this invention include polymers obtained from mixtures comprising:

90 parts of ethyl acrylate, parts of acrylonitrile and three parts, based on the combined weight of the ester and acrylonitrile, of N-methylol acrylamide; and 90 parts of butyl acrylate, 10 parts of acrylonitrile and two parts, based on the combined weight of the acrylate and acrylonitrile, of N-methylol acrylamide. These acrylic polymers generally are prepared utilizing emulsion polymerization. techniques. Emulsions of these types are commercially available from the Rohm and Haas Company under such trade designations as R- hoplex K-14 which has a film stiffening temperature of -47C. and Rhoplex K-87 which has a film stiffening temperature of l 8C. These polymers are believed to contain at least major proportions of butyl acrylate polymers generally coreacted with acrylonitrile and N- methylol acrylamide.

In addition to the acrylic polymer, the composition applied to the fabric also contains a wax having a melting point in the range of from about 15 to 90C. The waxes used in the compositions of the invention are referred to in the art as paraffin wax and as microcrystalline wax. Microcrystalline wax also is known as amorphous wax and is obtained by dewaxing residual lubricating oils. Theparaffin waxes areobtained usually by the dewaxing of distillate lubricating oil fractions. The paraffin waxes usually have a melting point below about 60C. whereas the microcrystalline waxes which contain only minor amounts of normal paraffin have slightly higher melting points. Low melting saturated hydrocarbonwaxes are particularly useful and these include the hydrocarbon-waxes having melting pointsbetweenaabout 15 and 60C. Examples of such waxes include hexadecane (melting point of 18C.), heptadecane, octadecane, docosane, hexacosane and heptacosane. I

The amount of wax incorporated into the compositions'of the acrylic polymers is not critical although water vapor transmission characteristics of thecoated fabrics is dependent upon the amount and melting point of the wax in the composition. Thus, atleast about 10 percent by weight of the coating composition of wax is necessary if the improvement in the vapor transmission is to be significant. When larger amounts of the wax are incorporated in the polymer composition, the water vapor transmission of the fabric is increased. Generally, the polymer compositions will contain from about 10 to 75 percent by weight of wax.

The wax-containing polymer composition can be applied to the textile fabric substrate either in organic solvents or in aqueous media. Aqueous dispersions or emulsions are preferred for reasons for economy and convenience, and particularly because the commercially available acrylic polymers are available as aqueous emulsions. In some instances, small amounts of catalysts may be added to expedite the curing of the composition. Examples of such catalysts include ammonium chloride, citric acid, oxalic acid, zinc chloride and ammonium citrate. The compositions also may contain varying amounts of thickeners to increase the viscosity of the composition as the application technique may require. Examples of such thickeners include the well known thickeners such as gum, methyl celluloses such as the Methocels available from the Dow Chemical Company, and neutralized polyacrylates. The polyacrylates are favored because they are relatively water resistant in film form.

The wax-containing polymeric compositions can be applied to the textile fabric by any of the known techniques such as, for example, padding, dipping, spraying, knife-coating, etc. The solutions or dispersions are applied to the textile fabric substrate to provide a wet pickup of-about 50 percent by weight based on the weight of the fabric and a solids pickup of about 20 percent by weight.

The fabrics which can be treated in accordance with the process of this invention may be made of any fibrous material including natural fibers such as cotton or wool, and synthetic fibers such as rayon, polyester, polyamides and blends thereof. Fabrics which have been found to be especially suitable for the preparation of rainwear are the cellulose containing fabrics prepared from cotton, regenerated cellulose such as viscose rayon, and preferably blends of cellulosic fibers and synthetic polymer fibers such as polyesters, polyamides and acrylic fibers. Blends of polyester fibers and cotton fibers are most often utilized wherein at least equal proportions of polyesters are found such as for example, a blend of 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton. The fabrics prepared from these fibers-are generally fabrics in knitted, woven or non-woven form.

After the wax-containing polymeric composition has been applied to the fabric and dried, it is essential that the fabric and the coating composition be heated to a temperature of at least C This post-heating operation is essential in order to volatilize some of the wax in the composition to improve the vapor transmission characteristics of the fabrics from an unacceptable to an acceptable level. It is believed that the post-heating operation results in a volatilization and subsequent removal of a portion of the wax creating micropores in the coating. In this manner, the vapor transmission characteristics are improved. In the absence of the wax, heating of the polymer coated fabrics at temperatures greater than 150C. does not significantly improve the vapor transmission characteristics. In general, the waxcontaining coatings of this invention are heated at temperatures of from about 150 to 200C. for periods of at least 1 minute and preferably from about 2 to 4 minutes although longer heating times may be utilized.

Fabric having improved water repellent characteristics in addition to vapor transmission, for example, rainwear fabrics, are prepared from the above-coated fabrics by giving them an additional treatment with a water repellent composition. One type of water repellent coating composition which has been found to be useful for the purposes of this invention is the fluorochemical type textile finishes often referred to as fluorocarbon compounds which have the ability to impart water and oil repellent properties to textile materials. These compounds may be defined as reactive organic compounds in which a high percentage of the hydrogen attached. to carbon has been replaced by fluorine. Fluorocarbon compounds which have particular utility in this invention are acrylates and methacrylates of hydroxyl compounds containing a highly fluorinated residue and their polymers and copolymers. Compounds of this type are described in greater detail in such patents as US. Pat. Nos. 2,642,416; 2,826,564; 2,839,513; and 2,803,615. Other fluorochemical compounds which can be employed as oil and water repellents include the chromium coordination complexes of saturated perfluoromonocarboxylic acids of which the chromium complexes of perfluorobutyric acid and perfluorooctanoic acid are representative. These compounds are described in the Journal of Textile Research, Volume 28, pages 233-241 (1958). Fluorochemical compounds suitable for the process of this invention are available commercially, such as, for example, those marketed under the trademark of Zepel by E. l. du Pont de Nemours & Company and under the trademark of Scotchgard by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company.

The polymeric fluorocarbon water repellent compounds may be applied to the fabric either in solvents or as aqueous solutions. The concentration of the fluorocarbon may be varied in accordance with the particular application although generally from about 0.5 to 5 percent of fluorocarbon is deposited on the fabric. The fluorocarbon can be applied in any manner and dried at room temperature or at elevated temperatures.

Textile resins may be applied to the coated fabrics in conjunction with the fluorocarbon compounds. That is, the fluorocarbon compounds may be combined with a textile resin in an aqueous solution which is then applied to the fabrics. The term textile resin includes both monomers and polymers which when applied to the textile material and when reacted under proper conditions undergo polymerization and/or crosslinking and are transformed to the thermoset state. Catalysts also may be included in order to facilitate the curing to the thermoset state. The cured textile resins afford the textile material durable press and/or wrinkle resistant characteristics.

The general classes of textile resins contemplated as being useful include the epoxy, acetal, methylol and aminoplast resins, the aminoplast resins being preferred. Specific examples of textile resins and monomers which may be employed with the fluorocarbon compound include: the urea formaldehydes such as propylene urea formaldehyde, dimethylol urea formaldehyde; melamine formaldehydes such as tetramethylol melamines; ethylene ureas such .as dimethylol ethylene urea, dihydroxy dimethylol ethylene urea and hydroxy ethylene urea formaldehyde; carbamates such as alkyl carbamate formaldehydes; alkylol amides such as methylol formamide acrylamides such as N-methylol acrylamide, N- methylol methacrylamide and N-methyl methylol acrylamide; triazones such as dimethylol-N-ethyltriazone; and haloacetamides such as N-methylol-N- methylchloroacetamides. Mixtures of the textile resins also are contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention.

The amount of the textile resin employed is primarily determined by the ultimate use of the garments or articles prepared from the textile fabrics. Very small amounts of the resin afford some improvement and large amounts even greater improvements although the aesthetic properties may be affected. Hence, the amount of resin employed is preferably that which will afford the desired crease retention and flat dry properties while not adversely affecting the hand. In the present invention, the amount of textile resin in the pad bath may vary between about 2 and 30 percent by weight, and the amount of the resin on the textile material should be in the range of between 2 to 20 percent based on the dry weight of the textile material.

As mentioned above, a textile resin catalyst also may be included with the resin. The particular catalyst employed will depend upon the speciflc textile resin that is applied to the textile material. For example, textile resins containing functional groups that are reactive under acidic conditions will require acid catalysts. Likewise, when the functional group is reactive under alkaline conditions, a base catalyst is used. The most common acid acting catalyst of the metal salts such as magnesium chloride, zinc nitrate and zinc fluoroborate and the amino salts such as monoethanolamine hydrochloride. Examples of base acting catalysts include metal salts such as sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and potassium bicarbonate.

The amount of catalyst used is that which is conventionally used in activating the reaction between textile resins and the textile substrate, for example, up to about 15 percent by weight and preferably from about I to 7 percent.

The solutions or emulsions of the fluorocarbon compounds, textile resins and catalysts can be applied to the textile fabrics by conventional techniques. After application of the emulsion or solution, the fabric is passed through squeeze rolls or other similar devices to remove excess solution or emulsion and thereafter dried and heated in a curing oven to effect the desired crosslinking reactions and convert the resins to the thermoset state. Temperatures of at least about C. and preferably from 150 to 210C. are employed. Curing times at these temperatures varies with the particular system employed. However, the treatment necessary to cause reaction and/or curing of the textile resin is generally between 1 and 30 minutes. It is believed that during this final curing or post heating step, additional wax volatilizes from the first composition through the second composition thereby providing fabrics having excellent vapor transmission.

On some occasions, it is desirable to include other substances in the second treatment in addition to the fluorocarbon compound, textile resin and catalyst. Examples of such substances include emulsifying and wetting agents, softeners such as polyethylene and other known textile treating agents which do not adversely affect the benefits and advantages achieved from the other substances.

The water vapor transmissible characteristics of thefabrics prepared in accordance with the process of this invention are determined in accordance with standard test procedure ASTM designation: E 96-66. The details of this test method are described in The 1969 Book of ASTM Standards published by the American Society for Testing Materials, Philadelphia, Pennsyl- The water resistance of the fabrics prepared in accordance with the process of this inventioncan be measured in accordance with the procedure set forth ,in ASTM test designation D5 83-58 and AATCC Method 35-1967. This water resistance test is referred to as the rain test, and it measures the resistance of fabrics to the penetration of water by impact, and thus can be used to predict the probable rain penetration resistance of fabrics. In this test, an 8 inch by 8 inch fabric test specimen is backed by a 6 inch by 6 inch piece of blotting paper which has been weighed to the nearest gram. The combination is placed in a standard rain tester, and the fabric sample is subjected to a 3 foot head of water for a period of 5 minutes. At the end of this period, the increase in weight of the blotting paper is determined to the nearest 0.1 gram.

The following examples illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Unless otherwise indicated, all parts and percentages are by weight.

EXAMPLE I A poplin fabric made from 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton fibers consisting of 128 ends and 82 picks with 4.5 yards/pound is impregnated with an aqueous mixture containing 49.1 parts of a butyl acrylate polymer latex, having a film stiffening temperature of approximately l8C. (Rhoplex 'K-87, available from Rohm and Haas Company, 46 percent solids), 1.3 parts of a 10 percent oxalic acid solution, 24 parts of a paraffin wax solution (Crolene LC from Crown Metro Company, 40 percent solids) having a melting point of 28C. and 5.9 parts of Wica Thica 6038, a neutralized polyacrylate thickener available from Wica Chemical Company, to a wet pickup of about 50 percent by weight based on the weight of the fabric. The fabric is dried in air. Samples of the air dried coated fabric are then subjected to a temperature of 188C. for 4 minutes. The vapor transmissibility is determined in accordance with the. test procedure described previously and is found to be 556 g/hr/m for the air dried fabric and 769 .g/hr/m for thepost heated coated fabric. 7 1

When the above experiment is repeated except that the paraffin wax is omitted from the composition, the vapor transmission of the air dried fabric is 490 g/hr/m and the post heated fabric is 488 g/hr/m indicating that the wax is an essential ingredient for obtaining coatings having improved vapor transmissibility.

EXAMPLE 11 The procedure of Example I is repeated except that the acrylate latex is replaced by an equivalent amount of Rhoplex E485 acrylate latex having a film stiffening temperature of 40C. The vapor transmission of the airdried fabric is determined to be 613 g/hr/m while that of the post heated coated fabric is found to be 889 g/hr/m indicating a 45 percent change resulting from the post heating operation.

1 EXAMPLEIII The procedure of Example I is repeated except that the acrylate latex is replaced by a self-crosslinking acrylate polymer emulsion of about 90 parts of butyl acrylate, 10 parts of acrylonitrile and from about two and three parts based on the weight of the butyl acrylate and the acrylonitrile of N-methylol acrylamide. This emulation is commercially available from Rohm and Haas Company as a 46 percent solids latex under fening temperature of this latex is 47C.

EXAMPLE IV The procedure of Example I is repeated except that the post heated fabric is topped with a water repellent composition comprising about parts of water, 18 parts of Reactant 101 (dihydroxy dimethylol ethylene urea), 3.2 parts of zinc nitrate catalyst, 3.5 parts of a perfluorobutyl acrylate water repellent marketed by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company as PC 208, 5 parts of Nalan W (a water repellent extender from Du Pont, 4 parts of a polyethylene softener and 0.1 part of a wetting agent to a wet pickup of about 40 percent by weight based on the weight of the fabric. The topped fabric is then dried at a temperature of 160C. for about 1 minute and thereafter cured at a temperature of 188C. for 3 minutes. This fabric is found to be excellent as a rainwear fabric exhibiting improved vapor transmission and water resistance as determined by the rain test described previously.

EXAMPLE V The procedure of Example 1 is repeated except that the paraffin wax'is replaced by a paraffin wax having a melting point of 53C. (Nopco 1055X wax available from Nopco Chemical Company.) The fabric treated with this composition exhibits excellent vapor transmission.

EXAMPLE VI The procedure of Example I is repeated except that a refined paraffin wax is utilized having a melting point of 84C.

EXAMPLE VII The procedure of Example I is repeated except that the post heated fabric is sprayed on bothsides with FC208 and dried at 160C. for 1 minute.

That which is claimed is: Y

1. The process for preparing vapor transmissible polymer coated textile fabric comprising the steps of a. applying to the fabric a composition comprising a polymer compound having a film stiffening temperature between about l0 and -50C. and at least about 10 percent by weight of the composition of a wax havinga melting point in the range of from about 15 to C., and

b. heating the fabric and the composition to a temperature of at least about C. to volatilize some of the wax.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the fabric and composition are heated to a temperature of from about 150 to 200C. for at least 1 minute.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the wax is a paraffin wax.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer compound is an acrylic polymer 5. The process of claim 4 wherein the acrylic polymer is predominantly a butyl acrylate polymer.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the textile fabric contains a blend of natural and synthetic fibers.

7. A process for preparing a vapor transmissible water resistant fabriccomprising the steps of a. applying to a textile fabric a composition compris- 8. The process of claim 7 wherein the dried fabric is ing a polymer compound having a film stiffening cured at a temperature of 160 to 210C. for 1 to 4 temperature between about l and 50C. and minutes.

at least about 10 P y weight of p 9. The process of claim 7 wherein the wax is a paraftion of a wax having a melting point in the range of 5 fi wax. from about 150 to 10. The process of claim 7 wherein the polymer comb. heating the fabric and the composition to a temound is an acr llc ol mer. perature of at least about 150C. to volatilize some p y p y 11. The process of claim 7 wherein the water repelof the lent com osition is a 01 meric fluorocarbon c. treating the fabric with a water repellent composi- 10 p p mm, and 12. The process of claim 7 wherein the textile fabric d. drying the fabric at a temperature from about 150 comams at least some polyester fibers to210C.

Claims

1. The process for preparing vapor transmissible polymer coated textile fabric comprising the steps of a. applying to the fabric a composition comprising a polymer compound having a film stiffening temperature between about -10* and -50*C. and at least about 10 pErcent by weight of the composition of a wax having a melting point in the range of from about 15* to 90*C., and b. heating the fabric and the composition to a temperature of at least about 150*C. to volatilize some of the wax.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the fabric and composition are heated to a temperature of from about 150* to 200*C. for at least 1 minute.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the wax is a paraffin wax.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer compound is an acrylic polymer

5. The process of claim 4 wherein the acrylic polymer is predominantly a butyl acrylate polymer.

7. A process for preparing a vapor transmissible water resistant fabric comprising the steps of a. applying to a textile fabric a composition comprising a polymer compound having a film stiffening temperature between about -10* and -50*C. and at least about 10 percent by weight of the composition of a wax having a melting point in the range of from about 15* to 60*C., b. heating the fabric and the composition to a temperature of at least about 150*C. to volatilize some of the wax, c. treating the fabric with a water repellent composition, and d. drying the fabric at a temperature from about 150* to 210*C.

8. The process of claim 7 wherein the dried fabric is cured at a temperature of 160* to 210*C. for 1 to 4 minutes.

9. The process of claim 7 wherein the wax is a paraffin wax.

10. The process of claim 7 wherein the polymer compound is an acrylic polymer.

11. The process of claim 7 wherein the water repellent composition is a polymeric fluorocarbon.