fibreglass

Formsfibreglasses, fibreglassing, fibreglassed

1. 1
   nounUKuncountableellipsis

   A strong composite material in which fine fibers of spun glass are bound together by a hardened resin.

   Much like steel bars give strength to concrete, the glass fibers give strength to the surrounding resin.

   Modern surfboards are built from fibreglass laid over a foam core.

   The technician layered fibreglass and resin to reinforce the car's damaged panel.

   Note

   The everyday meaning behind fibreglass boats, surfboards and car panels. Strictly, the glass is only the reinforcement, and the resin that binds it is half the material. When someone says a hull is fibreglass, they mean this composite rather than the bare glass filaments. It is a shortening, and the material's own name has taken over the whole thing.

2. 2
   nounUKuncountable

   Glass based on silica drawn out into fibers whose length is at least a thousand times their width.

   Like silk threads, except spun from melted glass rather than produced by a silkworm.

   Spun into long filaments, fibreglass can be woven into cloth or matting.

   Manufacturers draw molten silica into fibreglass that stays flexible despite being glass.

   Note

   The raw material itself, before any resin is added: glass drawn so fine that it bends instead of shattering. The spelling is the British one; American English writes fiberglass, a compound of fiber and glass. It is usually a mass noun (some fiberglass, not a fiberglass). Keep it apart from the resin-bonded composite, which uses these strands as reinforcement.

3. 3
   nounUKuncountableabbreviationellipsis

   Ellipsis of fibreglass wool.

   The builders rolled fibreglass between the wall studs for insulation.

   Old fibreglass can shed tiny fibers, so wear gloves when removing it.

   Note

   Here the word stands in for fibreglass wool, with the second noun simply dropped. When builders or householders talk about laying or stripping out fibreglass, they mean the wool, and context does the sorting: between wall studs or in a loft it is insulation, not the resin-bound composite. Like the full compound, it is uncountable.

4. 4
   verbUKtransitive

   To apply fiberglass to a surface or object, usually as a protective or strengthening coating.

   Similar to coating a surface in papier-mâché, but with glass cloth and resin that set rock-hard.

   The crew will fibreglass the hull before winter storage.

   He learned to fibreglass cracked panels at the repair shop.

   Note

   A transitive verb made straight from the noun: you fibreglass something, typically a hull or a damaged panel, by building it up with glass and resin. The forms keep the double s throughout: fibreglasses, fibreglassing, fibreglassed. The past participle can also serve as an adjective, as in a fibreglassed hull.

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