| abstract |
An improved process for dyeing closely constructed non-tufted textile materials is provided wherein an effective minor amount of a substantially oil and water repellent fluoropolymer is applied to the textile material. The substantially oil and water repellent fluoropolymer employed can be represented schematically as <IMAGE> The textile material can be, if desired, scoured with an aqueous surfactant solution to remove any residual dirt, oil or processing aids present on the textile material and thereafter scoured with an aqueous acidic solution to provide the textile material with an acidic pH prior to application of the fluoropolymer. Further, the back portion of the textile material can be backcoated with an elastomer composition. Once the textile material has been treated using any of the above processing steps, in combination with the application of the fluoropolymer, the resulting polymer-modified textile material is thoroughly dried and cured prior to dyeing. The application of the fluoropolymer to the textile material and its effect on the subsequent dyeing of the polymer modified textile material can further be enhanced by the use of a minor effective amount of a fluorosurfactant in combination with the fluoropolymer. The dyed products resulting from the process of the invention generally have reduced frosting and improved pattern definition and color yield. |