2. Description of Related Art There is a wide variety of products available for wiping and particularly for the wiping/polishing of automobiles and other painted articles where appearance is important. These products can be liquid or waxes that may be wiped onto a car and then buffed to a shine after drying. Solid waxes are known that are applied by wiping a cloth or some applicator onto the wax to transfer wax to the cloth and then applying the wax to the car. After drying, these solid waxes are also buffed to a shine. It is also known that such auto polishes can be formed utilizing silicone oil rather than wax. Such polishes do not require buffing; however, they do not form a long-lasting protective coating on the car.

U. S. Pat. No 3,965, 518 discloses a disposable impregnated wiper for treatment of household furnishings. The wiper is a cellulosic substrate having a bonding material impregnated in a fine pattern on the surface.

The polish is an oil and water emulsion having an internal phase of mineral oil and silicone fluid that serves as a furniture polish.

U. S. Pat. No. 4,683, 001 discloses a cloth that is coated or impregnated in a discontinuous manner with a polish composition. The polish composition comprises a silicone oil, a detergent and soap or wax.

In a particularly preferred form, the cloth comprises a polypropylene meltblown material that has been treated with a surfactant, and the wax is a combination of saponified and non-saponified waxes.

EP Publication 1035200 (Soft 99 Corp, Japan) discloses a polishing cloth wherein a fluorine compound can be used as a water-repellent component. The reference also discloses generally that the fluorine compound can be tetrafluoroethylene, but does not provide any details or

any examples directed to its use. Moreover, the reference discloses that the fabric portion of the cloth is made with a particular ratio of lipophilic to hydrophilic fibers.

U. S. Pat. No. 6475934 is related to EP Publication 1035200 and claims a polishing cloth, wherein trimethyl siloxy silicate is used as a water-repellent component. U. S. Pat. No. 6309984 is assigned to the same entity and claims trimethyl siloxy silicate for use in a water repellency supply cloth directed to use in polishing automobile bodies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an article for polishing surfaces made by impregnating a fabric substrate with a polishing liquid that contains a certain percentage of a polytetrafluoroethylene in the form of a dry film dispersed in water. The article provides durability, protection and a high-level shine particularly to painted hard surfaces, such as those on vehicles, boats or the like.

The article performs well and is easy to use. The article provides a high gloss after polishing that is significantly higher than that achieved with conventional polishes. This is because the inventive article does not leave a milky haze over the paint film, which may occur with standard polishes.

Also, the inventive article provides a longer lasting protective coating than conventional polishes.

The article comprises a nonwoven fabric substrate made by hydroentangling, meltblowing, spunbonding or other suitable methods to which a polishing liquid is added. The fabric substrate can be woven or knit, but a nonwoven would be preferable, especially from a cost standpoint. A preferred fabric for the substrate would be Sontara0 9421, a hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of 70% rayon/30% polyester at a basis weight of 75 grams per square meter, available from E. I, du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DE (DuPont). The Sontara0 9421 is preferably used at a thickness of 0.5 mm and can be either apertured or non-apertured.

One embodiment of the polishing liquid comprises about 3.5-4. 0 weight percent (wgt %) Krytox0 DF/W, about 2-4 wgt % of a silicone compound, a wax and various additives, such as, abrasives, perfumes, biocides, thickeners, emulsifiers and the like. The remainder and greatest portion is water. The silicone is preferably in the form of polydimethylsiloxane. The Krytox0 DF/W is a 20% aqueous dispersion of

polytetrafluoroethylene and is available from DuPont. Krytox0 DF/W is a polytetrafluoroethylene, as is Teflon (D, also available from DuPont.

However, Krytox0 DF/W has a much lower molecular weight than does Teflon@ (about 3300 vs. greater than one million, respectively) and a much different morphology (flat platelets vs. spherical shape, respectively). The particle size of the platelets is about 5-7 micrometers and these small particles are believed to fit in the pores of the painted surfaces and as such provide a longer lasting protective coating compared to other conventional polishing systems.

In another embodiment, the polishing liquid also comprises about 3.5-4. 0 percent by weight of Krytox0 DF/W, about 2-4 % of Krytox0 oil, wax and the remainder is primarily water with additives, substantially as noted above. The Krytox0 oil is a perfluoropolyether and is available from DuPont. This embodiment does not contain any silicone and is preferably used on new and relatively new vehicles.

The inventive articles are made by impregnating the nonwoven fabric with the polishing liquid by loading to at least about 200% of the weight of the nonwoven fabric and preferably at least about 220%. The polishing liquid can be loaded to as much as 280%. The polishing liquid is preferably distributed uniformly throughout the nonwoven fabric. The polishing liquid is preferably applied to the fabric by spraying. However, other appropriate methods, such as dipping and coating could be used as long as the desired amount and distribution of the polishing liquid is achieved. Because the article is impregnated with liquid it would be provided in an appropriate container/dispenser as would be well known to those in the art.

EXAMPLES Various types of polishing systems were evaluated against the inventive articles. Several types of wipes that had been pre-saturated with polishing and/or cleaning agents were tested. Also tested were polishing agents that were either applied directly onto a surface and then wiped with a separate cloth or applied onto a separate cloth and then applied onto a surface.

In each of the examples, the test was performed on an automobile that had been treated with T cut, then washed and dried. T Cut is an abrasive paste used to prepare the paint surface by removing any previous polishes, oxidation, etc. to produce a consistent surface.

Although the Glosser product is claimed to be effective on a slightly soiled automobile, it was tested on a clean automobile. The polishes and polishing wipes used were as follows : Comparative Example A-TurtIeWaxO liquid.

Comparative Example B-Simoniz liquid with Teflon@ (Teflon@ is a registered trademark of DuPont).

Comparative Example C-Glosser wipe. (Glosser is available from Emgee/Clean Tools, Wesmont, IL, USA) Example 1-Silicone wipe.

Example 2-Non-silicone wipe.

Example 3-Silicone Wipe.

The results are presented in the tables below. Sheen was measured as reflectance at an 85° angle, with the higher number representing the better sheen. The range is from 0 for a total matte to 100 for black glass. The surface tension for both oil and water was tested using a DuPont Test Kit, uses two series of liquids of varying surface tension-one for water resistance & one for oil resistance. The series ranges from 1 to 6, with 6 as the best rating. The resistance to the effects of washing was determined by the number of times that the automobile could be washed until water beading became negligible.

Table 1 Number Washes Surface Tension Where Beading Is Example Sheen Water Oil Negligible A 83 6 1 >20 B 84 5-6 2 >20 1 82 5-6 1 >20 2 84. 5 5 1 10 Table 2 Number Washes Surface Tension Where Beading Is Example Sheen Water Oil Negligible C 76 5-6 1 >20 3 78 5-6 1 >20