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Clear tarpaulin or coloured

Updated: October 2026

You need daylight on a run, a window, or a row of pots, or you need the bike and the log stack hidden and shaded. Clear tarpaulin or coloured is that choice. In this set it is one clear sheet against blue, green, and silver cloth. Products Compared read twelve amazon.co.uk listings on 15 October 2026. This is not a light-meter test, and a link may earn us a commission. The [tarpaulin comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/tarpaulin) is the full table. Grams and rope stay on the [tarpaulin buying guide](/hub/diy-supplies/tarpaulin/sub/tarpaulin-buying-guide).

You need daylight on a run, a window, or a row of pots, or you need the bike and the log stack hidden and shaded. Clear tarpaulin or coloured is that choice.

Our top picks

Velway Velway 2 × 3 m tarpaulin

Best overall

Velway Velway 2 × 3 m tarpaulin
7.2/10about £9.43
View offer
ANSIO ANSIO 3 × 4 m tarpaulin

Preis-Tipp

ANSIO ANSIO 3 × 4 m tarpaulin
6.9/10about £7.45
View offer
SolaDirect SolaDirect 2 × 3 m clear tarpaulin

Alternative

SolaDirect SolaDirect 2 × 3 m clear tarpaulin
7.0/10about £8.79
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the clear sheet in this set actually is
  2. 2.When daylight is the point
  3. 3.When you want shade and hiding
  4. 4.A thin blue sheet is not a clear leno

What the clear sheet in this set actually is

The only clear sheet here is SolaDirect's 2 × 3 m leno, at £8.79. It states 100 gsm, mesh-reinforced polyethylene, rubber-strengthened corners, and a welded hem. Eyelets are every 1 m, rope is not listed, and the cut may vary by plus or minus 10 percent. Item weight is 620 g on 6 m², about 103 g/m², near 100 gsm and still not a laboratory GSM. The listing states no percent of light. The line is 4.4 from 5,473 reviews, and the first 50 texts name other sizes, so the count is not this 2 × 3 m sheet. Reviewers use clear sheets on runs, windows, and plants. The same sample reports holes after about a year.

When daylight is the point

Choose this leno when you need light and 2 × 3 m, plus or minus 10 percent, covers the opening: a run roof, a window, or plants that would stall under blue plastic. It is not greenhouse film. That product is sold by gauge and by a stated light percent, and this file has neither. If 2 × 3 m is too small after the tolerance, this comparison has no larger clear sheet. Chairs and logs need an air gap, which is tarpaulin for garden furniture. The ties are how to secure a tarpaulin.
Velway Velway 2 × 3 m tarpaulin

Testsieger

Velway Velway 2 × 3 m tarpaulin
7.2/10about £9.43
View offer

When you want shade and hiding

Choose a coloured sheet when you want the load dark, hidden, or shaded. Velway's green 2 × 3 m states 100 gsm at £9.43, and 720 g is about 120 g/m². ANSIO's blue 3 × 4 m states 70 gsm, with a weight near that claim, if you want a cheaper opaque cover and you will give it a fall. HipperTech's blue sheets state 60 gsm, and the shared reviews call that cloth very thin. KAV's 130 gsm and the silver-black 250 gsm title are not confirmed by the parcel weights. A log stack, a bike, or a trailer does not need the clear leno.

A thin blue sheet is not a clear leno

A blue sheet can look slightly see-through when the plastic is thin. That is not a mesh-reinforced leno. If you need daylight, and 2 × 3 m is enough, buy the clear 100 gsm leno and accept its size and its missing light percent. If you need shade or hiding, buy a coloured sheet with a stated GSM. A PVC curtain and a zipped door are not in this set. Neither choice is a storm rating, a fire rating, or a greenhouse.

Common questions

When should you buy a clear tarpaulin?
Buy it when you need daylight on a run, a window, or plants, and a 2 × 3 m sheet, plus or minus 10 percent, covers the opening. In this set that is SolaDirect's 100 gsm mesh-reinforced leno at £8.79, with eyelets every 1 m. Rope is not included, and the listing states no percent of light.
When is a coloured sheet the better cover?
When you need shade or hiding, for a log stack, a bike, a trailer, or furniture you do not need to see through. Blue, green, and silver-black sheets here are woven polyethylene, not a clear leno. Colour does not tell you whether the parcel weight agrees with the GSM. That check is the buying guide.
Is a thin blue sheet clear enough for plants?
No. A thin blue sheet that looks slightly see-through is still coloured polyethylene, not the clear leno. The shared SolaDirect reviews mention a blue sheet that was nearly transparent because it was thin. That is a reason to doubt the cloth, not a reason to use it as a run roof.
Does the clear listing state a percent of light?
No. This 2 × 3 m file does not print a light-transmission figure. Other UK shops print 70 percent or up to 80 percent on different leno sheets. Those numbers are not this ASIN. Reviewers mention light coming through, and one mentions a bubble-wrap look, which is not a percentage.
Can you use the clear sheet as a greenhouse film?
Not as a designed greenhouse cover. It is a 100 gsm leno with no stated light percent and no gauge. Review texts in the shared sample include a greenhouse roof that developed holes between October and the following August, across other sizes in the file. Horticultural film is a different product.
Which coloured sheets hide a log stack or a bike?
Any opaque sheet can hide a small load if the size is right: blue HipperTech or ANSIO, green Velway, SolaDirect, or KAV, or the silver-black B2C if the parcel matches the title. Hiding is the colour's job. The silver-black 250 gsm claim is not confirmed by a 250 g item weight. A clear leno will not hide the stack.
How long do reviews say a clear sheet lasts outside?
The first 50 UK texts, which name other sizes, include holes after about a year, and one greenhouse roof peppered over roughly ten months. That is a review theme, not a tested life, and the UV claim has no year. Do not read 5,473 reviews as this 2 × 3 m sheet alone.

Related pages

Tarpaulin

Best heavy duty tarpaulin: check GSM, not the title

Tarpaulin buying guide: size, GSM, eyelets and rope

Tarpaulin for garden furniture: short cover with an air gap

How to secure a tarpaulin: use every eyelet and give a fall

Sources

Public UK sources on quality, description, unsafe products, scaffolds, and advertising claims. Prices, stars, and review counts are from the twelve amazon.co.uk listings read on 15 October 2026. Prices move.

  1. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. General Product Safety Regulations 2005, regulation 5 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. HSE, scaffolds (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. Fire Safety Order 2005, article 6 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, consumer protection rights (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Citizens Advice, faulty goods (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. CAP Code, section 3 (retrieved 16 October 2026)