Sunbrella Vs. Recacril

If you know much about us, you know we are different. We like to ask why, what, and how a lot. Just ask our vendors, in some cases we hit them with questions no one has ever asked them. Last year at the National Marine Fabricator Association Conference, a very good friend of ours, who also happens to be a wonderful fabricator, Darren Arthur of Nautilux Custom Canvas, suggested we try using Recacril instead of Sunbrella. Because of our curiosity, we gave it a try. The very first thing you notice when comparing the two is the weave. Recacril has a much tighter weave giving it a much stiffer feel. You can see a difference if you hold the two up the sun, you see a bit more daylight through the Sunbrella than you see in the Recacril. When laying out our first pattern on it we noticed that because of the stiffness it cut a bit differently, but a lot easier when using a hot knife. We had Sharps Tarps do some cutting for us on larger number of production jobs using their big fancy cutting table, and they ran into issues of it being more difficult to cut. On the other Darren Arthur says one of his favorite things about the Recacril is the cutting and he also uses an automated cutting table. With sewing, because of the stiffness, the sewers do not like top stitching it. It makes them sweat a bit more and they are developing some pretty nice “Popeye” arms! Amanda doesn’t feel that is a good look for her. I have noticed however, that seams look a bit less puckered and wrinkly. This could be the fabric or it could just be our team is getting better at sewing. We have used it on our FCT’s for a few Snap Covers, and I have really liked the finished product. They look more crisp and tight without being too tight. Only time will tell if that tighter weave leads to less sag that you see in the Sunbrella covers have. The more we use the Recacril, the more I am leaning towards using more of it. Nuts and Bolts, Who is better at… Warranty: Both are 10 years Marketing: Sunbrella has much better name recognition, customers ask for it by name. Distribution: Sunbrella American Made: Sunbrella (Recacril is made in Spain) Material: Both Solution Dyed Acrylic Application: they are interchangeable.

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SewLong is the gold standard for boat covers and biminis for your tournament tow boat. We deliver craftsmanship and value with every product.

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