Acrylic vs polyester awning fabric
Updated: 22.10.2026
You are choosing a cloth for a patio awning and two different shops are using the same words. A recover firm talks about solution-dyed acrylic. Amazon’s grid, in the seven rows of our [awning fabric comparison](/hub/sun-shades/awning-fabric), is polyester. Acrylic vs polyester awning fabric is that split, not a ranking of the ASINs. This page uses mill and UK fitter pages alongside listings captured on 19 October 2026. We did not fade-test either fibre. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The order of buying decisions is the [awning fabric buying guide](/hub/sun-shades/awning-fabric/sub/awning-fabric-buying-guide).
You are choosing a cloth for a patio awning and two different shops are using the same words. A recover firm talks about solution-dyed acrylic.
You are choosing a cloth for a patio awning and two different shops are using the same words. A recover firm talks about solution-dyed acrylic. Amazon’s grid, in the seven rows of our awning fabric comparison, is polyester. Acrylic vs polyester awning fabric is that split, not a ranking of the ASINs. This page uses mill and UK fitter pages alongside listings captured on 19 October 2026. We did not fade-test either fibre. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The order of buying decisions is the awning fabric buying guide.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Cloth | Coating | Fabric weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Neotrims Neotrims black waterproof canvas (1 m) | 600D polyester canvas | PU, front face | 411 g/m² | 9.2 | about £9.95 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  A-Express A-Express black 600D canvas (half metre) | 600D polyester | Not stated | Not stated | 9.0 | about £6.99 | View offer |
 Green Bay Green Bay grey awning fabric (2.5 m x 2 m) | PU-coated polyester | PU | 300 g/m² | 9.0 | about £38.99 | View offer |
On this page
What solution-dyed acrylic is
Solution-dyed means the colour goes into the fibre before it is spun, so the shade runs through the yarn. Dickson’s answer for a folding-arm awning is solution-dyed acrylic. That is a mill arguing for its catalogue, and it is still the trade default UK recover firms repeat.
Orchestra is acrylic at 290 g/m², with a stated 10-year warranty. The warranty is Dickson’s, and Orchestra is not an ASIN in these seven rows. A common roll is about 120 cm wide, so a wide awning is seamed. Parà’s Tempotest warranty is 8 years and excludes bird mess and bad installation. UK merchants were around £14 to £22 a metre on 19 October 2026. Intelroll puts acrylic from about 320 g/m² and still says an awning is water-resistant, not fully waterproof.
What this shelf’s polyester is
The hemmed polyester here is Green Bay’s grey panel: PU-coated, 300 g/m², water-resistant at 17 L/m²/h, £38.99, 4.5 from 394, named 2.5 m x 2 m. Intelroll’s PU polyester sits around 280 to 299 g/m², cheaper and more water-shedding than their acrylic, with fade risk on dark colours. Do not turn 17 L/m²/h into a hydrostatic head. A fitter’s “90 to 100 percent UV” line is not printed on this listing.
Celtty is custom polyester at £23.50, 3.9 from 13, with waterproof and non-fading bullets and no fabric weight. That is not a 10-year mill warranty. Neotrims is 411 g/m² with PU on the front face, and not for year-round outdoors. A-Express at £6.99 has no UV percentage. Fade from about a week to a season is the repeated complaint. Dongawin claims PVC and states no grams per square metre.
When each one is the honest buy
Choose solution-dyed acrylic when a sunny terrace has to keep its colour for several summers and you will order from an awning maker. The 10-year line stays with Dickson. It does not move to a PU panel because both can be called 300 grams.
Choose Green Bay when the frame is near 2.5 m x 2 m, you want a hemmed panel with a valance at £38.99, and you will retract in rain and wind. The cloth is about 12 cm under the awning name, and the bead is reused. Choose Celtty only when that stock size is wrong and you will check the parcel first. Choose Neotrims or A-Express for covers you sew. Named skips are on best awning replacement fabric. Neither fibre changes the wind class under BS EN 13561. None of these listings cites BS 7837.
What is neither
A 600D Oxford sheet is not acrylic and it is not a hemmed PU canopy. Blue and grey Dongawin cuts are 100 cm x 146 cm at £10.97 and share one 4.2 from 68. The black cut’s title and dimensions field disagree. One review used it as a swing-seat canopy. A bullet that says awning fabric does not make it the trade cloth.
A valance-only strip is not in this set. Green Bay includes a valance on the canopy. Acrylic still needs retracting in a storm. The mistake is buying the word waterproof and expecting solution-dyed.
Common questions
What does solution-dyed mean?
The pigment is in the fibre, not only on the surface. Mills such as Dickson use that for awning acrylic so the colour is through the yarn. It is a manufacturing description, not a promise that the cloth can stay out in a gale. Orchestra at 290 g/m² is an example. It is not an ASIN in this comparison.
Is PU polyester waterproof?
In this set, Green Bay calls its PU polyester water-resistant and prints 17 L/m²/h. Intelroll, selling their own PU polyester around 280 to 299 g/m², still say an awning is not fully waterproof. Celtty says waterproof with no figure. Treat a bare waterproof word as unfinished.
Will the Amazon polyester fade in a UK summer?
It can. A-Express reviews report fade from about a week to a season. Neotrims prints a limit on year-round sun, and one buyer showed cushions washed out after about 14 weeks. Green Bay’s listing says UV-resistant and does not give a percentage or a warranty term. Dark colours are the ones Intelroll flag on PU polyester.
Is 300 g/m² the same thing as acrylic?
No. Green Bay’s 300 g/m² is PU-coated polyester. Dickson Orchestra’s 290 g/m² is acrylic, with the mill’s 10-year warranty attached to that cloth. Similar grams do not make the same fibre. Read the material line, not only the weight.
Why is Dickson not in the comparison table?
Because these seven rows are amazon.co.uk listings, and Orchestra is not one of them. The table would be misleading if a mill cloth appeared as if it had an ASIN, a star count, and a Prime price. Order it from an awning supplier if that is the cloth you want.
Does acrylic mean I can leave the awning out in a storm?
No. UK firms still tell you to retract in heavy rain, including on acrylic. Acrylic is the better sun cloth in the trade accounts we used. It is not a higher wind class, and it is not a licence to leave a pool of water in the cloth.
Is 600D canvas either of these?
It is polyester, usually with a coating claimed, sold as a cut you sew. Neotrims states 411 g/m² and a year-round limit. Dongawin states 600D and no grams per square metre. It is not solution-dyed acrylic, and it is not Green Bay’s hemmed panel.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 19 October 2026. Updated 22.10.2026.
- amazon.co.uk awning fabric listings in this set (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- BS EN 13561:2015, external blinds and awnings (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Retained Regulation (EU) 2019/1188, wind classes (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- GOV.UK, accepting returns and giving refunds (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- BS 7837:1996, flammability of marquee textiles (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Dickson, choosing folding-arm awning fabric (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Parà Tempotest warranty (retrieved 22.10.2026)