Improved Cotton Durable Press by Wet Fixation. Laboratory-Mill Correlations1

Abstract

Previous experimental treatment of the theoretical aspects of the wet-fixation tech nique has led to conclusions regarding the nature of the resins and reactants used, their interactions in the process, and the balancing of cross-linking for durable-press per formance and polymerization for physical-property retention. Subsequently, laboratory trials were run which were designed to elucidate and test the critical variables of the process, the ultimate objective being successful translation of the process to the mill. Recognizing that fabric type is a particularly critical variable, work to date has been limited to three fabrics-100% cotton corduroy, 100% cotton twill, and cotton broad- cloth. The following variables were considered on a laboratory basis—bath concentra tion of resin and reactant, time and temperature of wet fixation, concentration and nature of topping catalyst, and pressing and final cure. The results are analyzed by means of wrinkle recovery, physical properties, appearance and crease ratings, and resin analysis. Optimal selected laboratory conditions have been duplicated on a mill scale and, for samples examined to date, the correlation is very good. The following conclusions can be drawn from this work: for a particular fabric, e.g., corduroy or cotton twill, the "wet-fixation" technique provides an excellent level of durable-press performance with high physical-property retention, including significantly improved abrasion resistance; some latitude exists in the "wet-fixation" step, permitting either high-temperature/short-time reaction or room-temperature/longer-time batching; catalyzation, pressing and curing play a significant role in end-result performance, and the controlled translation of laboratory trials to mill trials has been successfully accomplished.