Upholstery Material?

[nhschneider]

The cushions in our main saloon are badly in need of recovering. As we are spending a significant amount of time in the tropics (and don't have air conditioning), we'd like to find a material that doesn't feel damp all the time, if such a material exists. Leather is not an option and we'd like something more comfortable than Sunbrella but we'd still like something that would wear well. The fabric that's currently on there was a commercial grade (we found the exact same material on the chairs in a bar at the Vancouver airport) but we're disappointed that it hasn't lasted all that long.

Any suggestions?

Fair winds and calm seas.

[CAELESTIS]

Ultrasuede. Easy to clean, no rot, and not sticky when hot.

[model 10]

Sunbrella. They make versions that are called uplhostery fabric but it looks the same as all the others. I shop EBAY for fabric and you can get the price down to about $6 a yard. Just the other day I spilled a glass of red wine on some Forest Green Sunbrella and it came right up, no stain whatever.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by CAELESTIS

Ultrasuede. Easy to clean, no rot, and not sticky when hot.

+1 Ultrasuede can't be beat except on price.

[daddle]

We have Ultrasuede. Unfortunately in light tan. But we throw colorful cotton prints over them. Looks better and feels better on the skin. Ultrasuede is very durable, a bit pricy, cleans easily, doesn't stain....

Sunbrella would be sad. Not comfy.

[model 10]

We are not too sad an I'm not sure what comfy means. Sunbrella is almost indestructible, infinite choice of colors and they do make upholstery fabric. Can you take a hose to Ultrasuade?

[Pblais]

Glen Raven Mills makes Sunbrella. Sunbrella is made from "solution dyed yarns" The yarn can be had in different colors and woven into patterns. Some of this stuff is what you see on the most expensive patio furniture and wears like iron but looks like living room furniture. It don't have to look and feel like a sail cover!

The "Ultra" Suede and Leather products will wear the best by several factors and cost a lot more ( love it!). The Brisa leather breaths very well. None of it is natural material.

NO cotton, wool or stuff grown in the field. No real leather either! It all rots and molds while you look at it. On a budget look for car seat material Olefin is a very durable material and pretty cheap and has colors and woven patterns. Some of the Sunbrella fabrics can be had for a good price. It's hard to get suitable stuff under $40 / yard.

The really bad new is upholstery foam is off the charts now. Very expensive! Dense foam with a memory foam top is heaven!

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Guy

We are not too sad an I'm not sure what comfy means. Sunbrella is almost indestructible, infinite choice of colors and they do make upholstery fabric. Can you take a hose to Ultrasuade?

Yes you can. UltraSuede is a 100% man made material that outperforms Sunbrella on all fronts except price. We are not attacking your choice for Sunbrella, just advising the OP on what is best when price is not an issue. It's always good to have that benchmark. Budget will dictate choice as always and Sunbrella interior fabrics is another choice at a lower cost level. It is however not as comfy as UltraSuede, especially not in high humidity of the tropics.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by Pblais

Glen Raven Mills makes Sunbrella. Sunbrella is made from "solution dyed yarns" The yarn can be had in different colors and woven into patterns. Some of this stuff is what you see on the most expensive patio furniture and wears like iron but looks like living room furniture. It don't have to look and feel like a sail cover!

The "Ultra" Suede and Leather products will wear the best by several factors and cost a lot more ( love it!). The Brisa leather breaths very well. None of it is natural material.

NO cotton, wool or stuff grown in the field. No real leather either! It all rots and molds while you look at it. On a budget look for car seat material Olefin is a very durable material and pretty cheap and has colors and woven patterns. Some of the Sunbrella fabrics can be had for a good price. It's hard to get suitable stuff under $40 / yard.

The really bad new is upholstery foam is off the charts now. Very expensive! Dense foam with a memory foam top is heaven!

Paul mentioned Brisa. That's what we are going to do ours with. The only drawback is price - but in the grand scheme of things...

It's an ultraperformance product that also breathes. I think the only one.

[hpeer]

What about fire resistance?

[Exile]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Yes you can. UltraSuede is a 100% man made material that outperforms Sunbrella on all fronts except price. We are not attacking your choice for Sunbrella, just advising the OP on what is best when price is not an issue. It's always good to have that benchmark. Budget will dictate choice as always and Sunbrella interior fabrics is another choice at a lower cost level. It is however not as comfy as UltraSuede, especially not in high humidity of the tropics.

Didn't know UltraSuede was synthetic, thought it was a variant of natural leather -- good to know. Someone actually managed to stain mine with what looks like a spot of oil or grease. Any recommendations on how to clean, or more importantly how not to clean?

[sww914]

You could start with hand cleaner or shampoo. Both are designed to cut grease without incinerating your skin.

[Target9000]

We went with Ultrasuede for new cushion covers. The price of this stuff is nuts if you pay list. We would have never bought it for that. However... There are "other" ways.

My wife found that lots of leftover ultrasuede often go on ebay for much below list price but with the downside that they are in odd measures. However, being that boat cushions are small, we were able to make that work.

We bought 9 yards @ $23/yd with free shipping. It came in different pieces so it took some "engineering" to make the most of it.




So far we're very happy with it and we were able to redo all of our interior saloon cushions. It seems very durable and isn't sticky when its warm. To those of you shocked by the price, please take a moment to look for those furniture manufacturing cast offs like we did. It may take you a while to find the right color/size combo, but it can be done.

It also helps that my mother-in-law does boat canvas.. =]

[Caracal]

Has anyone tried ultrasuede outdoors(I'm thinking UV resistance)?

Edit:
Nevermind, I found a car forum which talked about how Ultrasuede doesn't have UV protection, but how others have.

Not really a problem for interior upholstery

[Amapola]

Here's a good site for material. Upholstery Supply & Marine Fabric Superstore They are cheaper than Sali-Rite. The new Sunbrella upholstery fabric is comfortable.