help me identify this please

hi guys, i'm building a bubble tube for my boys and have got most of it finished.

i'm now looking at some soft padding to go round it kind of like a play mat you would find in a soft play area...

i want a material that is wipeable for obvious reasons. i've been in the local dunelm mill and while they had the foam i need i couldnt find any suitable material.

i've got some pictures from the sensory room we have been in today and this is basically the stuff i want

Attachment 8141Attachment 8142

anyone have any ideas what it's called... the problem with not being able to touch it is i have a feeling i know what it is but dont want to order the wrong stuff

PVC banner material is often used as a covering for this sort of stuff, you could also use a truck curtain side material but not sure if it has another name lol. banner material is available at different weights (thicknesses) and at different widths. How are you going to manufacture the covers?? You really need an industrial type sewing machine if that's how you intend to fabricate them. Sailmaker might be able to do it for you if you know of any.

my missus has an auntie with said industrial sewing machine... thinking about it we could probs ask her what the material is tbh..

damn why didnt i think of that before lol

Try searching for flexible PVC sheet, lots of different types available, as I said above banner material is just one type. Lots of other types available if you need something more suited to covering foam.

That looks like the fake leather they used to sell to cover loudspeakers.

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Adrian

As others have said it's probably PVC of some sort. All top fabrics and textiles categories | Fabric UK

This stuff I remeber reading somewhere is used for BMW seats. Just Colour Leatherette Fire retardant | Fabric UK​

Don't know anything about it myself. But whatever you get make sure it's non toxic, kids like to chew. :)

As Oscar has mentioned about making sure it is something non toxic for kids it's probably a good idea to mention fire prevention as well, a lot of pvc;s would not have a fire rating suitable for internal use so make sure what you go has a suitable fire rating.

Being in the furniture industry, we call it PVC, but there are other names for it too depending on the manufacturing process. All are man made to resemble leather and can be smooth or with textures. you can even get fake suede effect fabric, called faux suede, which is made in the same way . Leather effect fabrics go by the names like PVC, faux leather, bycast leather, bonded leather and vinyl fabric and some cheeky sellers just call it leather. How much do you need? I might be able to get one of my sofa manufactures to send me a 'large' sample, lol. Black, brown and cream are most common colours. If they ever wear away, you can get vinyl sprays in a can form, mixed to any colours. Just spray it on to make it new again.

As for fire regulations, this is a tricky subject, where there are exceptions when the cover needs protection or not, but the fillings will always need to be fire retarding. I would just buy the protected material, it can't be much more expensive.

Adil

thanks for all the information guys.

iwant1... if it was to be a piece big enough to do the whole thing then i would need something that would get 1 x 1200 x 1000 and 1 x 1200 x 500mm and i mean these are very rough sizes, without knowing how that sample would come thats the best info i could give you.

is there a medical grade to this stuff? as the stuff on them play mats is much thicker (it feels thick from how stiff it is) than what i expect is used in furniture infact it's very similar to the stuff these use on chairs in hospitals

hmm this looks like the stuff you are describing martin
upholsteryshop.co.uk i've asked for a sample :D

Just a heads up on PVC, to make it flexible it contains a plastisicer which can be toxic as per the scare some time ago about cling film and cooking in microwave! Better check for safety with children in mind.

Peter