Sunbrella Upholstery Fabric

[baileyuph]

Currently in progress are several pieces of furniture being covered with Sunbrella fabric.

So far, I am not a big advocate of this fabric for furniture.

First, I am noticing a lot of acrylic fiber residuals that have to be brushed out of the fabric.  Similar problem Gene and his designer (?) had.  Only it appears with enough brushing, it is reduced significantly.  Even that not with standing, I guess I just do not like the properties of acrylic fabric for upholstery.  It is still, being acrylic it isn't very natural in feel and color.  In a word, it is more difficult to apply.

I doubt all acrylics are as bad as this piece, I have used another Sunbrella on furniture that wasn't as stiff and did not have the residual fiber problem.  So, I suppose in essence I am more negative on their fabric that has a boat cover material similarity.

The material would lure customers with pets for it should be strong and easily cleaned. 

Are others advocates of the material for upholstery and what kind of experiences are there from working with the fabric?

Doyle

[Mike]

was it regular marine canvas or sunbrella furniture grade? the furniture is softer less stiff.
I just did some bow seating and a bridge lounge with sunbrella awning canvas same as marine but with stripes it is not as much fun as working with marine vinyl

[Mojo]

Doyle:

There are two distinct acrylic fabrics that manufacturers make. One is awning grade and one is furniture grade. There is a big difference between the two. The awning grade will have  a heavy or hard " hand " ( feel ) to it while the furniture grade will be much softer. Most of the differences are accomplished during the manufacturing process. The awning material will get a heavier finish put on while the furniture grade will not, creating a softer feel.

In regards to the fibers coming loose. I have never seen it happen before but then I refuse to even allow Sunbrella in my shop door. The weave process creates a stretch factor on Sunbrella that is outrageous and gets worse with time. The yarns used to make it are open market cheapies. Another problem is the seconds and thirds which were destined to be shipped out of this country are finding their way right back in again. And of course there are alot of chinese knock off's floating around now days. These reasons are why so many of us refuse to use Sunbrella anymore. We still have a couple members who refuse to give it up and switch to another brand but many are still hanging onto the theory that Sunbrella has always been the gold standard of canvas and thus THEE fabric to use for marine work. That was surely true back before Sunbrella started buying cheaper yarns and changed their weave process back in 2001 or 2002. And here is the kicker. Sunbrella is more expensive then its two competitors.

I am one of the forums heavy users of acrylic fabric. I buy by complete rolls ( 65 yds at a time ) and burn through dozens of rolls every year. I use nothing but Recacril and Sattler and I can honestly say I have never once experienced what you have. I am going to guess you got ahold of some Chinese knock off fabric being sold as Sunbrella. As crappy as Sunbrella can be I have never heard of it giving off yarn fibers like you mentioned.

Be sure your using furniture grade acrylic and try using Sattler or Recacril.

Chris

[baileyuph]

The material I am using is sampled (sample book) as 100% acrylic Sunbrella.  It virtually does not stretch in either direction.  I will comment that the thickness would probably be too thin for marine work, meaning it is defined in sample book as suitable for
furniture and patio cushions (outdoor?), I assume indoor or something similar.

Some here may have the same sample book, but at this point it would not be proper to blast the distributor.  Tough call?

Therefore, Mike the intent is a Sunbrella furniture fabric.

But I don't like it! 

BTW, I have another project that involves rather large kitchen chairs and it is getting Sunbrella with same specs but it has a furniture fabric feel, meaning a distinct weave with some give if you pull in the two directions.  I used it before and it responded more like woven materials for furniture is expected.

Perhaps from what you guys are saying, perhaps this is a thinner version of a Sunbrella literal canvas?

Sure hope the customer likes it, I don't but guess who selected it!

Chris:  Man you use some fabric!  I did not realize canvas was rolled in that large a roll (65 yards).  Just by volume it should be fairly heavy as a roll.

You will or do definitely need a bigger work space, one that allows for rolling a lot out at a time.

I do some marine but am not set up for it like desired. 

Doyle

[Mike]

that pattern was chosen by the owner I  have used tons of outdure and  a job coming up with recacril.
funny thing with sunbrella and all acrylics I see streach even with recacril a cover for a boat dealor they let the boat on a hill and water puddled and made a sag at the puddle I see this with sunbrella and outdura and coastguard but customer tell me and I see it shrinkage they have and cannt snap a cover  xo the pppproblem I see it shrinkage not  streach

[Mike]

The material I am using is sampled (sample book) as 100% acrylic Sunbrella.  It virtually does not stretch in either direction.  I will comment that the thickness would probably be too thin for marine work, meaning it is defined in sample book as suitable for
furniture and patio cushions (outdoor?), I assume indoor or something similar.

Some here may have the same sample book, but at this point it would not be proper to blast the distributor.  Tough call?

Therefore, Mike the intent is a Sunbrella furniture fabric.

But I don't like it! 

BTW, I have another project that involves rather large kitchen chairs and it is getting Sunbrella with same specs but it has a furniture fabric feel, meaning a distinct weave with some give if you pull in the two directions.  I used it before and it responded more like woven materials for furniture is expected.

Perhaps from what you guys are saying, perhaps this is a thinner version of a Sunbrella literal canvas?

Sure hope the customer likes it, I don't but guess who selected it!

Chris:  Man you use some fabric!  I did not realize canvas was rolled in that large a roll (65 yards).  Just by volume it should be fairly heavy as a roll.

You will or do definitely need a bigger work space, one that allows for rolling a lot out at a time.

I do some marine but am not set up for it like desired. 

Doyle

The material I am using is sampled (sample book) as 100% acrylic Sunbrella.  It virtually does not stretch in either direction.   

Doyle

every sunbrella sample card marine   ie seen said it had a 1

The material I am using is sampled (sample book) as 100% acrylic Sunbrella.  It virtually does not stretch in either direction.  I will comment that the thickness would probably be too thin for marine work, meaning it is defined in sample book as suitable for
furniture and patio cushions (outdoor?), I assume indoor or something similar.

Some here may have the same sample book, but at this point it would not be proper to blast the distributor.  Tough call?

Therefore, Mike the intent is a Sunbrella furniture fabric.

But I don't like it! 

BTW, I have another project that involves rather large kitchen chairs and it is getting Sunbrella with same specs but it has a furniture fabric feel, meaning a distinct weave with some give if you pull in the two directions.  I used it before and it responded more like woven materials for furniture is expected.

Perhaps from what you guys are saying, perhaps this is a thinner version of a Sunbrella literal canvas?

Sure hope the customer likes it, I don't but guess who selected it!

Chris:  Man you use some fabric!  I did not realize canvas was rolled in that large a roll (65 yards).  Just by volume it should be fairly heavy as a roll.

You will or do definitely need a bigger work space, one that allows for rolling a lot out at a time.

I do some marine but am not set up for it like desired. 

Doyle

every sample card marine ive seen said it had a 1% streach and shrink to it ill have to look again .

[MinUph]

We use Sunbrella quite a bit for outdoor cushion work and don't see an issue with stretch. But I have it on a couple of saddle chairs on our lanai and it has definitely stretched. I am sure this is worse with the cushion grade product but as others with more experience in the taught applications even the marine grade must stretch. So for furniture cushion work it is fine IMO. I like the price of Outdura better but again it is a bit thinner. I'm not privy on Recacril and Sattler and don't know if these products come it patterns or not. Also if they come in cushion grade. I've also recently in the past year done a T-Top with Sunbrella marine and it is as tight as when I installed it. No downward pressure to force stretching just water run off so its a tuff call on something like this.

[Mojo]

I wished Carefree still used Sunbrella. I have made a very good living replacing their stretched out and shrunken slide toppers. The word I got was they had to switch because of warranty claims. They since have went to Recacril and another vinyl type topper material.

I made it a point of inspecting all the brand new 2013 buses at the Indiana rally and told the wife
we need to get this new shop built soon. I can see alot of business coming our way. The vinyl fabric they are using is complete crap. I put my finger through a rotted out section of one that was 2 years old.

If Carefree or Girard ever goes to Solarifx thread I will be out of business soon after. As long as they continue to sew with Bonded Poly I will have tons of business.

Right now I am doing replacement toppers for carefree toppers that are less then two years old. The thread is rotted out of them.

Chris

[Mojo]

Doyle:

Sattler and Recacril both have a solids line and decorative line with stripes. Both come in awning grade or furniture grade.

If you want give MImaiMike a call and have him send you a cut of each - marine grade and furniture grade of the Rec or Sattler. I think you will see the difference in quality. You can also ask for him some free product/sample cards.

Chris

[Mojo]

Chris:  Man you use some fabric!  I did not realize canvas was rolled in that large a roll (65 yards).  Just by volume it should be fairly heavy as a roll.

You will or do definitely need a bigger work space, one that allows for rolling a lot out at a time.

I do some marine but am not set up for it like desired.  

Doyle

I burn through so much yardage it isn't funny. Miami Mike takes my call, hears me sobbing and knows I am ordering another spool of Solarfix or another roll of fabric.

Sattler or Recacril comes in large rolls. Anywhere from 62 - 68 yards. It weighs a ton but thankfully I get flat rate shipping ( $ 10 per package ) from Miami because I am in their courier district. I think I am somewhere near $ 3 - 4 K for the month so far in material ordering. I have had a series of large mega orders and some of these toppers are over 30 ft long. Doesn't take long to burn through fabric and thread. I cry to Mike over the bill and he says " suck it up buttercup. Your making money ". :)

I was telling June in an e-mail today that I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The orders are getting knocked out and business is finally entering its slow summer season. Just in time for us to load the bus and head out on vacation. I need some down time.

Chris

[baileyuph]

Chris, you do work up the yardage, the awnings are larger than guessed.

Back to Sunbrella.  Today, I worked on decorating cushions/pillows.  These were done in Sunbrella but a different color, hot pink!  Hot pink trimed with black.  The young "with it" crowd go for this, especially mixed with grey in there homes.  Point I want to make is the hot pink did not have the lint as the black did.  I hope to share his with Gene, plus the black seemed to all brush off.

Also, I should point out that the pink Sunbrella didn't have any noticeable stretch in either direction.  That feature alone drives up the time in furniture work.  The patterns have to be right or there will be some unwanted wrinkles show up. 

Next week there is a rather large project coming in that will be done in Sunbrella, but it isn't a light weight solid pattern, more of a weave of various colors.  I haven't found it to be a problem to work with, used it before.  It is a woven grey and black pattern, another favorite of the decorators.

Mike might have sensed the situation, the black and the pink, and other colors, that resemble a lighter weight canvas just might be woven like boat canvas, hence the aggravations when it is used on furniture (but no stretch- go figure).  The project is done, after spending extra time on the project it looks nice.

Now, it is back to boat seat work, several to do.  Good comments and I learned a few things from your input about Sunbrella canvas, perhaps a lighter weight version is what I have been working with.

Doyle

[bobbin]

The acrylics are great for general durability and ability to withstand UV (certain colors fade badly however... yellows and reds!).  But my own experience with them is that acrylic is notoriously unforgiving. 

Cushions must be "spot on" and the foam must be accurately cut to fill out the corners and the person cramming it into the skins must be prepared to "work" the covers.  If you're using awning/marine canvas weight it's harder than with the lighter weight upholstery weight goods, but not by much. 

I just finished 2 aft cabins for a large sailboat (Dupioni "Dove") and they looked great, but they weren't welted.  The salon seating area was harder (same fabric), the welting complicated the acute angles and I really had to work the corners of the bevelled back bolsters.  I batted the tops and faces of the back cushions.

Working at home in my own shop I've moved away from the foam core welt insert and now routinely use a soft welt (100 % polyester) which makes applying the welting a lot easier.  I also use V69 or 46 thread (only 92 at my old job) and have the option of a 16/18 needle.  I find a looser tension makes thing lie more smoothly and feed more evenly.  I work with many different fabrics now and find a pre-job stitch sample invaluable.  Old lessons learned in the construction/alteration of clothing are now coming in very handy!

[MinUph]

The acrylics are great for general durability and ability to withstand UV (certain colors fade badly however... yellows and reds!).  But my own experience with them is that acrylic is notoriously unforgiving. 

Cushions must be "spot on" and the foam must be accurately cut to fill out the corners and the person cramming it into the skins must be prepared to "work" the covers. 

Isnt this case with all cushion work in general? I don't think acrylics are harder than a heavy weight vinyl or even lighter weight vinyl. Just my personal take on it.

[Mike]

paul I did my t top with outdura  aquamarine and  every morning when dew covered it is loose moves in the wind . in the afternoon after the sun gets on it its nice and tight again
never seen any fibers coming off any color doyle . its also slowing down here also ive got a searay   deckboat cover to do with a separate skirt do cover to the waterline with the boat is out of the water sunbrella a new color aruba
then ive got a starcraft toon full upholstery dow and some cnvas on a camano trawler that will get me past the 4th

[baileyuph]

You who work acrylics, is cutting done with a hot knife?  Some frays badly.

Thread?  Like Bobbin, I usually use 69 on furniture or related projects.
Fading was mentioned, does that apply to indoor use as well as outdoor?

Doyle