Surface finishes
When a piece of fabric is removed from the loom, it is rough and grey in colour. Finishing begins with washing the fabric and then often bleaching it to make it appear white. It is then ready for treatments that improve the appearance and function of the fabric.
Mechanical finishing
There are several mechanical finishes to improve appearance and texture:
- brushing – fabric is sent through a series of fine wire-toothed rollers, which raise the fibres giving the fabric a soft, fluffy surface which improves the insulation properties of the fabric
- calendering – sends fabric through heated, pressurised rollers that give the fabric a smooth, lustrous (shine) finish, used for upholstery fabric
- embossing – synthetic fabrics are sent through heated, engraved rollers which press the pattern texture into the fabric, called moiré
Chemical finishing
Chemical finishing techniques are available to improve function and properties:
- mercerising – cotton fibres are treated with a solution of sodium hydroxide, making them stronger, softer and more lustrous
- crease resistance – cellulose fibres, such as cotton, crease badly and treating the fabric with a resin-based finish reduces how much the fabric creases
- shrink resistance – to prevent wool fibres shrinking when washed they can be treated with chlorine, which removes the scales of the wool fibres that cause the shrinkage
- anti-static – synthetic fibres can be treated with chemicals to help decrease their water absorption, making them waterproof and prevent the build-up of static that makes fabric cling to itself
- stain resistance – a silicone-based spray can be used to prevent grease and dirt clinging to the fibres and is usually sprayed on after a product has been manufactured
- flame resistance – most fibres burn and could be a potential death hazard- by law upholstery fabric has to be treated with a flame-resistant finish
- water repellency – silicones (a tough synthetic material) are applied to a fabric’s surface to temporarily prevent water being absorbed by the fabric; PVC can coat the fabric to make it permanently water proof but doesn’t allow the skin to breathe
Finished textiles with effect
Modern textile finishing offers a variety of effects on all textiles. Apart from a pleasant handle, functions like high wear comfort or non-iron qualities are decisive criteria nowadays when purchasing textiles.
Depending on the requirements, customer wishes and demands can be implemented with our finishing agents.
Our finishing agents are an indispensable component in the textile finishing chain. Aside from latest stylish handle effects, they allow for special performance properties of fabrics or applications for technical textiles.
Due to their high quality and efficiency our products facilitate the industrial processing of textiles and ensure for smooth, reproducible processes.
We offer you a balanced product mix of well proven auxiliaries as well as innovative and individual solutions. Together with our coatings we offer extensive features for technical textiles for all common standards and beyond.
Reference: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zfypfcw/revision/7
https://www.cht.com/cht/web.nsf/id/pa_finishing_en.html
