Using Poly Tarps over the traditional Canvas Tarps
Using Poly Tarps over the traditional Canvas Tarps
The poly tarps have so many uses and yet people are still using the canvas tarps. People ask me the differences between the two all the time. The poly tarp is made from polyethylene and has many applications. The
canvas tarps are used by a lot of painters and tile workers for soaking up the paint and wet grout use for the tile.
Poly tarps can come in all shapes, sizes and brands. Poly Tarps are made with a plastic type material that is very strong and waterproof. There is a polyethylene coating that covers over the nylon tarp material. Poly is the abbreviated term for polyethylene. Poly or polyethylene tarps can come with a U.V. treated coat over the poly tarp material which helps protect it for sunlight. Polyethylene (PE) is the largest volume polymer consumed in the world. It is a versatile polymer that offers high performance relative to other polymers and alternative materials such as glass, metal or paper.
People always ask me what are poly tarps made out of? Poly tarps are made with polyethylene, nylon tarp threading inside the material with a rope reinforcement around the perimeter of the poly tarp material. Polyethylene (PE) resins are milky white, translucent substances derived from ethylene (CH29CH2). Polyethylene, with the chemical formula [8CH28CH28]n (where n denotes that the chemical formula inside the brackets repeats itself to form the plastic molecule) is made in low- and high-density forms. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) has a density ranging from 0.91 to 0.93 g/cm3 (0.60 to 0.61 oz/cu in). The molecules of LDPE have a carbon backbone with side groups of four to six carbon atoms attached randomly along the main backbone. LDPE is the most widely used of all plastics, because it is inexpensive, flexible, extremely tough, and chemical-resistant. LDPE is molded into bottles, garment bags, frozen food packages, and plastic toys or in this case polyethylene tarps a.k.a. poly tarps.
The original tarps or tarpaulin were canvas. The word tarpaulin originated as a compound of the words tar and palling, referring to a tarred canvas pall used to cover objects on ships. By association, sailors became known as tarpaulins and eventually tars. When used for a tarp, the word hoochie (also hootchie, hootch, or hooch) comes from the Japanese uchi ("house"). Huts in various parts of rural Asia are known by this or similar names, and during the Korean and Vietnam Wars English-speaking soldiers came to use the word to refer to their own makeshift shelters, which often consisted of little more than a tarp. Modern canvas is usually made of cotton. It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as twill, in the way it is woven.
Canvas has a very simple weave: the weft thread just goes over one warp thread and under the next. (The weft thread for twill goes over one and under two and each weft thread moves the pattern over one thread. The result is a diagonal pattern such as can be observed in the cloth use for blue jeans.) Canvas comes in two basic types: plain and Duck. The threads in Duck canvas are more tightly woven. Our canvas tarps are duck canvas. In the USA canvas is graded two ways: by weight (ounces per square yard) and by number. The numbers run in reverse of the weight; so, number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4. The more modern poly
tarps are more common these days but there are many applications that are only used for good old canvas tarps.
About Author
Michael Stein is the President of Tarps Plus
- www.tarpsplus.com Tarps Plus has been distributing
tarps since 1954.
Source: ArticleTrader.com
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