Laminate, acrylic or PU: what to put on a wardrobe shutter

Laminate is a printed sheet pressed onto the board. It is the cheapest of the three, comes in the widest range, resists scratching well, and looks like what it is at the edges unless the edge banding is done properly. It is the rational default for wardrobe internals and for any home with children.

Acrylic is a high-gloss sheet that reads as glass and reflects the room. It photographs beautifully, shows every fingerprint on a dark colour, and scratches in a way that cannot be polished out locally — a damaged shutter is a replaced shutter.

PU is spray-painted and polished in coats. It gives the most furniture-like result, allows any colour, softens edges that sheet materials cannot, and can be sanded and re-sprayed years later. It is also the most expensive, the slowest, and the most dependent on the skill of the person spraying it.

A practical split, and one many good projects use: PU or acrylic where the room is seen, laminate everywhere else. Nobody has ever regretted a laminate wardrobe interior, and the money saved buys better channels.

Acrylic damage is not repaired. It is replaced.