Work out how much Glass you have by weight and multiply by 2.5. i.e. for 2kg of fibreglass mat, you will require 5kg of resin. Alternatively, use our Materials Quantity Calculator. Roofing applications may require more resin if the resin is applied to OSB3 boards as the boards will soak more resin. Our materials calculator will give exact requirements depending on application e.g. Roofing, Pond Lining or General Fibreglass Projects.

Read more

Before starting laminating, ensure that the weather conditions will be acceptable. Do not lay the roof if rain is forecasted. Temperatures should be at least 15°C to allow the resin to cure. If the temperature is too hot (over 25°C) the resin will cure too quickly. Sweep down the roof to remove any debris. We start by bandaging the joints, trims and corners. If you are not using T&G, the joints in the decking should be taped up using masking or any type of tape. This is just to prevent the resin from dripping between the boards. We used T&G so there was no need for this here but we have shown it for demonstration purposes. Glass bandage should be used to strengthen all the joints on the decking and the trims. Measure out the glass bandage roll and cut or tear to length. It is a good idea to lay the bandage out on the roof before rolling it up and placing beside the joints ready to use. Weigh out your resin. Mix 2% catalyst in with the resin. For this, we mixed 0.5kg of resin at a time. Wet out the joint with resin using a paint brush or roller. Roll out the glass tape over the resin. Wet out the glass with more resin, until it is fully saturated. Consolidate with a paddle roller. Ensure there are no pinholes and the mat turns transparent. This should be repeated with the joints in the trims. Wet out the joints with the resin using a paint brush again. The edges of the fibreglass can be frayed or feathered, by pulling at the edges to make the seam less visible on the front trim. This will help with the final appearance. Wet out the glass with a paint brush as before. Consolidate with a paddle roller To fibreglass, the ends of the raised edge roofing trims, cut out a square of fibreglass that covers the area +50mm onto the trim. Cut relief cuts around the top of the fibreglass so that it can be folded smoothly over the top of the trim. Again, wet the glass mat out with a paint brush and consolidate with a paddle roller. The same method should be used on the internal corners. Measure the fibreglass mat to size and cut using a Stanley knife. When joining two pieces of the mat, the edges should overlap by 50mm. To create a less visible seam between the two mats, the edges are frayed by lightly pulling. Mix the resin and catalyst. Place the bucket on the weighing scales and reset the scales. We recommend mixing 2kg at a time. This will be enough to cover 1m2 at room temperature. Add the catalyst to the resin. The recommended rate for adding catalyst is 2% at room temperature. Mix the resin and catalyst thoroughly for at least one minute, It will change colour slightly as the catalyst is mixed through. Use a roller to wet out the OSB board Lay the fibreglass out onto the wet resin. Apply more resin to the glass mat until the glass mat is fully wet out. Consolidate the resin and glass with a paddle roller. Ensure that there are no pin holes. The glass will start to appear transparent at this stage. It is a good idea when working on a larger roof to have one person putting on the resin and the mat and a second person following. Once cured, lightly sand the area with a coarse sandpaper. The roof is now ready for... Read more

Yes, all Resins, Topcoats and Gelcoats sold by FibreGlassDirect are supplied with sufficient catalyst. 

Unfortunately, Polyester Resin cannot be used on Polystyrene as it will eat into it! An Epoxy Resin would be better suited for this application.

The shelf life of Catalyst is approximately 6 months. It is important that the catalyst is stored in its original packaging in a cool, dry location away from sunlight. As Catalyst is an extremely flammable chemical, it is important to refer to MSDS and TDS sheets before use.

In short, no. The deck would have to be sanded back to the fresh timber and wiped down with Acetone prior to any fibreglass application.

Unfortunately, you cannot apply the Flex (or any Polyester Resin) directly to the Bitumen Roof. This type of Polyester Resin will not adhere to Bitumen. The Roof would need to be stripped back and applied to OSB3 Board.

In this instance, a fibreglass roof kit may be used to complete the repair. The first step would be to sand back the exisiting surface to expose the fibreglass and then clean with acetone. Measure the amount of fibreglass mat you will need. Cut your new fibreglass mat into strips of an appropriate width for covering over the cracks. Ensure there is an overlap of 50mm either side of the crack. Apply a wet coat of resin to the surface and bed down the new matting. Ensure the glass is completely wet through with resin (it will go transparent). Taking a paddle roller, consolidate the glass and resin ensuring that matting is wet through and well consolidated to surface. There should be no trapped air. Allow to cure. Once cured (min 3 hours), sand back with 80 grit sandpaper to key surface and clean with acetone. Mix topcoat with catalyst and apply. Allow to... Read more

This depends on the temperature of your working conditions and how much catalyst has been incorporated into the mix. Warmer temperatures will reduce your curing time and colder temperatures will increase the length of cure.  Likewise, adding extra catalyst will speed up the curing process - often necessary for colder temperatures and reducing catalyst will reduce curing - again often necessary during warmer temperatures. We would recommend mixing no more than 1.5 - 2kg at a time. Once the resin and catalyst are mixed, the curing process will begin and you are working against the clock to get the resin applied - usually no more than 20 minutes. Only mix as much as you need.  Epoxy Resin is mixed on a ratio basis and should not be altered. Room temperature is the ideal scenario for curing. Each resin type will differ so we would always recommend referring to the MSDS and TDS available on each product listing before use.  Although some resins may be hard to the touch after 24 hours, some may not be fully cured for up to 3 days. Again, this information will be available on the product Technical Data Sheet... Read more

Generally speaking, for Polyester Resins, the mixing ratio is 2% i.e. 20ml for every 1kg of Resin in working conditions at room temperature. For the Water Clear Casting Polyester Resin, this drops to 1.5% or 15ml for every 1kg. In colder working temperatures you may wish to increase the catalyst addition to 3% but definitely, no more than 4% to speed up the curing process. Similarly, in warmer temperatures, you may wish to reduce the amount of catalyst to extend the pot life of your resin. In this case, you should not go below 1%.  To ensure accuracy, please refer to the TDS of each resin which will detail cure times.  Epoxy resins are treated very differently and work on a ratio e.g. 1:1. Please refer to the TDS and MSDS attachments which are available on each product page as each Epoxy Resin will vary. If in doubt, don't hesitate to contact our team who would be happy to... Read more