The invention relates to the use of a silicon formulation as a textile coating base comprising a silicon resin, a metal alkoxide and a functional additive which can react with at least one of the preceding components. One of the essential objectives of the invention is to supply a treatment which can be used to provide a large number of textile materials with long-lasting characteristics. Another essential objective is to supply a treatment for fixing a functional siloxane network to the surface of the textile material. In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the invention relates to the use of at least one cross-linkable liquid silicon formulation as a base for coating textile material. In this way, by cross-linking around the constituent threads, fibres and/or filaments of the textile material, the material is provided with a large protective covering which is little dependent on the nature of said material given that it requires no or few anchoring points. In addition, by producing a chemically-cross-linking silicon sheath, the textile material is provided with excellent resistance against stresses which occur during usage and, thus, long-lasting protection. Moreover, by providing additional specific use characteristics, it is possible to form coatings having use properties such as softness, water repellency, oil repellency, water absorbency and an anti-static effect. Finally, owing to the special nature of the components of the formulation, the operations consisting in depositing the liquid formulation and cross-linking same can be performed at any point in the processes involving the creation and/or alteration and/or maintenance of the textile material which is made from natural and/or synthetic materials.