The comparison
| Criterion | Acrylic sheet | Sprayed PU |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | 1 mm cast PMMA bonded to board | Two-pack polyurethane, 5–7 coats sprayed |
| Installed rate | ₹520 – 920 per sq ft | ₹640 – 1,150 per sq ft |
| Colour | Manufacturer’s range only | Any colour, matched to a sample |
| Sheen control | As supplied, matte or gloss | Specified at 60°, anything from 5 to 90 |
| Profiles and curves | Not possible | Excellent — its main advantage |
| Surface hardness | Higher | High but slightly softer |
| Repair in place | Polish light scuffs only | Full — sand, re-spray, blend |
| Consistency | Factory sheet, identical | Depends on the spray booth and operator |
| Edge treatment | 2 mm matching band required | Sprayed continuous — no band |
The seamless edge, which is the argument nobody makes
An acrylic shutter has a banded edge. A PU shutter does not — the colour wraps the panel because it was sprayed. On a handle-less kitchen where the shutter edge is the pull, that difference is at eye level and under your fingers every day.
- On a J-profile or G-profile handle-less kitchen, the top edge of every base shutter is visible. In PU it reads as solid colour; in acrylic there is a banded line.
- A high-quality 2 mm matching acrylic band, PUR applied, is close to invisible from a metre. From closer, it is not.
- On conventional handled kitchens the edge matters much less and the argument weakens considerably.
- For an island end panel, a curved return or a shaped counter front, PU is the only way to keep the surface continuous.
Costed on the same elevation
| Element, 118 sq ft of shutters | Acrylic | Sprayed PU | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substrate, 18 mm HDHMR | ₹18,600 | ₹18,600 | Same board |
| Face treatment | ₹82,600 | ₹1,03,300 | PU at booth-sprayed matte |
| Edge treatment | ₹11,800 | included | PU wraps the edge |
| Profiled elements, 22 sq ft | not possible | ₹23,100 | Fluted island front |
| Comparable total, ex-GST | ₹1,13,000 | ₹1,45,000 | Before carcass and hardware |
The gap narrows once edge banding is counted, and disappears entirely if the scheme includes any profiled element that acrylic cannot produce.
Site conditions: the risk that belongs to PU
- PU is sprayed. Sprayed in an occupied Mumbai flat during civil works, it picks up dust nibs that are permanent.
- Insist on booth spraying off site, with finished panels delivered and installed. This adds a few days to the programme and removes the main quality risk.
- Board moisture matters. A panel sprayed in monsoon humidity without checking moisture content will blister at the sealer coat.
- Ask for a signed sample panel of 300 × 300 mm for both shade and sheen, and keep it until handover as the benchmark.
- Acrylic carries none of these risks because the face arrives finished from a factory. That predictability is worth something on a tightly programmed job.
Five questions to put to whoever is quoting
- For acrylic: is it cast or extruded, and how thick? Cast PMMA at 1 mm is what you want. Extruded sheet is softer and crazes at the edges, and 0.8 mm bows on a tall shutter.
- For acrylic: what is on the back face? A balancing sheet is mandatory. A shutter faced on one side only will cup in a Mumbai monsoon.
- For PU: how many coats, and what dry film thickness? Putty, two sealer, two colour, one clear, at 90–120 microns. “Two coats of PU” is not a specification.
- For PU: where will it be sprayed? A booth off site, not your flat. Insist on this in writing and accept the extra few days in the programme.
- For both: what happens if a panel is damaged in year four? The answer for acrylic is a replacement panel and a shade reference; for PU it is a site re-spray. Both are reasonable; neither should be a shrug.
Verdict by scenario
| Scenario | What we would specify | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Flat slab kitchen, solid colour, handled | Acrylic | Hardest face, factory consistency, slightly cheaper |
| Handle-less kitchen with profile pulls | PU | Seamless edge at the point you touch every day |
| Shaker, fluted or curved elements | PU | Acrylic cannot follow a profile |
| Bespoke colour matched to a fabric or stone | PU | Any colour; acrylic is limited to stock shades |
| Long horizon, plan to refresh at year ten | PU | Re-sprayable in place |
| Tight programme, occupied flat, dusty site | Acrylic | No site spraying risk |
Our default on a mid-to-upper kitchen: acrylic on the flat wall and base units, PU on any profiled element and on the island, tinted to the acrylic against a physical sample and kept on a separate plane so the slight sheen difference never sits side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Which is more durable, acrylic or PU?+
Acrylic has the harder surface and resists scratching slightly better. PU is more repairable — it can be sanded and re-sprayed in place, which acrylic cannot. Over fifteen years the repairability usually matters more than the hardness.
Can PU match an acrylic colour exactly?+
Very closely, if it is tinted against a physical acrylic sample rather than a code. What will differ slightly is the sheen and the way light reflects off a sprayed film versus a cast sheet. Keep the two materials on different planes rather than adjacent in one run.
Why is PU more expensive?+
Labour and coats. A full PU system is putty, two sealer coats, two colour coats and a clear topcoat with sanding between, done in a controlled booth. Acrylic is a single bonding operation on a factory-made sheet. The gap narrows once acrylic’s edge banding is counted.
Does white PU turn yellow?+
Slightly, over five to seven years, most visibly where sunlight falls. Acrylic does not. If the scheme is brilliant white and will be in daylight, that is a genuine argument for acrylic — or for choosing an off-white in PU, which does not show the shift.
Can I get a handle-less kitchen in acrylic?+
Yes, with an aluminium J or G profile fixed to the shutter, which is how most handle-less acrylic kitchens are built. What you cannot get is a seamless coloured edge; the profile is a separate visible element. In PU, the edge is simply the shutter colour.