What is propylene fabric in upholstery repair of furniture?
We have covered in previously published articles many different fabrics, which are being used in upholstery repair. One of these fabrics was velvet. In this article, we are going to provide all the necessary information about propylene fabric, which is one of the most used fabrics nowadays in upholstery repair of furniture.
What is propylene?
When we see the name of propylene, we think about the chemical words and products of petroleum that we learned during our high school period. However, somehow it is like that. It is a modern fabric used in many industries such as upholstery.
Propylene or olefin is mainly from oil and natural gas, and it is a synthetic thermoplastic polymer. Some years ago, in the late 1950s, the gas named propylene was not a useful product and it could be derived from oil and natural gas. However, after a couple of years, an Italian scientist polymerized propylene and produced feasible plastic propylene. This Italian scientist was called Giulio Natta. After this process, industries could add more tasks to their industrial processes to produce propylene fabric. This product can be in different sizes and lengths.
What are the features of propylene?
As mentioned earlier, propylene fabric is a synthetic fabric used in upholstery repair, and for this purpose, it should have a couple of features. For instance, it is strong, which is a must for upholstery repair of furniture. For the next feature, we should mention being fade-resistant. Additionally, it is also staining resistant.
after a propylene fabric is being extruded, it is impossible to change its colour. And this makes propylene a great choice for upholstery repair.
As for propylene pros, we can also mention that it will never get dirty. So, if you are looking for a fabric for your upholstery repair, which never gets dirty in your home or office, propylene can be counted as a great option. Or, if you have children, you can choose propylene for your furniture and avoid getting dirty.
Furthermore, if it gets dirty, cleaning it is a piece of cake. The cleaning process is being done with simple fabrics such as clothes. Additionally, the cleaning tasks won’t affect the colour of your furniture and you can enjoy the colour you have chosen, but in a clean condition.
a point to think about propylene
when we talk about propylene, some points should be considered. As an instance, you should know that different companies produce different kinds of propylene. Moreover, the quality of the fabric should be measured by the customer and then the customer can buy it. the quality control should be either done by the company itself or the final customer. Otherwise, the fabric cannot fulfil the expectations of customers and can be destroyed easily or fast.
Additionally, when buying propylene, you need to know that a wait time should be considered to get the fabric. In other words, if you ordered the fabric today, you need to wait for at least 3 months to get the fabric itself. During this waiting time, you may need to think of changing your furniture instead of repairing its upholstery! It is a long time to wait and can be considered as a drawback of propylene. Therefore, if you look for a fast option, you can choose other fabrics.
A huge drawback of propylene
In the previous paragraphs, we discussed a set of pros and cons of propylene. However, there is a drawback, which can draw our attention. This fabric makes the final furniture not so comfortable. Propylene is tough against spilling, and this makes its material a bit hard. This hardness is the reason to make the propylene hard and not comfortable enough.
Competition between polyester and propylene
There is a competition between polyester and propylene in the market of upholstery and fabrics. There are a couple of things, in which propylene is better. And in some others, polyester does the better job. In this section, we will discuss all the information in this respect.
Both these materials are durable and suitable for upholstery repair. However, if you are looking for a fabric that can be resistant to stain, you need to think about propylene, instead of polyester.
On the other hand, there is polyester that can offer you a couple of features. As for these features, we need to mention that polyester is less rough and more comfortable when comparing to propylene.
Moreover, polyester is more resistant to UV shades of the sun. However, this resistance is less for propylene. Therefore, placing a piece of furniture near a window is less likely to damage your polyester upholstered furniture.
To make it short, the main differences between these two fabrics are fade and stain resistance. Polyester upholstered pieces of furniture are more comfortable and resistant to fading. On the other hand, the pieces of furniture that are made up of propylene are more effective at resisting stains and water damage.
At last, you need to have a conversation with expert people in this respect to make a great choice for your upholstery repair. You can count on us in this respect. Our professional experts are here for your services and can provide you with the best and the most useful tips to choose the best fabric for your furniture.