Process for producing light-reflective fabrics

Abstract

An improved process for producing durable, wash resistant, light-reflective fabrics for use in garments and wearing apparel to enhance their nighttime visibility without significantly detracting from the daytime visual appearance of the fabrics, comprising the steps of applying to a surface of a textile fabric constructed from differentially dyed or dyeable yarns or fibers a liquid paste composition containing a uniform dispersion of binder-coated, reflex-reflective, magnetically orientable particles suspended therein, and a carboxyvinyl polymeric thickener in the composition to maintain a composition viscosity of between about three thousand to seventeen thousand centipoise, applying a magnetic force field to the fabric to magnetically orient the particles in the paste composition to dispose their light-reflective surfaces generally outwardly from the surface of the fabric, treating the fabric to activate the binder of the particles and adhesively secure the particles to the fabric surface, and subsequently treating the fabric with a finishing composition to enhance the durability of the reflective particles on the fabric and improve their resistance to removal by washing. The liquid paste composition containing the uniformly disbursed reflective particles is particularly suited for application to the fabrics by a screen printing or coating operation.