cotton has an exceptional natural finish, but under adverse conditions of weathering, this finish may deteriorate to the extent that processing quality is altered. changing technologies involving higher processing speeds and new spinning systems have placed increased demands on the fiber properties of all cottons. spin finishes could reasonably improve the processing qualities of both damaged cottons and cottons in general. the history of effective finish usage (additives) in both ginning and textile processing of cotton has been reviewed. cottons harvested both before and after significant weathering in the mississippi delta, with and without added finishes, were evaluated for spinning quality. the processing performance of the unweathered cottons was superior to that of the weathered cottons. a hydrocarbon plus surfactant additive improved the processing performance of the weathered cottons in relation to processing waste and dust generation, but did not improve spinning end breakage or yarn strength. (edited author abstract) 13 refs