page_title: Fiberglass
section_title: Examples of fiberglass use
hierarchical_section_title: Fiberglass / Applications / Examples of fiberglass use
caption_attribution_description: English: Fiberglass kayaks. Legs &amp; Paddles 2006, 12 March, Singapore.
context_page_description: Fiberglass, or fibreglass is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet, or woven into a fabric. The plastic matrix may be a thermoset polymer matrix—most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin, or vinylester—or a thermoplastic.
  Cheaper and more flexible than carbon fiber, it is stronger than many metals by weight, is non-magnetic, non-conductive, transparent to electromagnetic radiation, can be molded into complex shapes, and is chemically inert under many circumstances. Applications include aircraft, boats, automobiles, bath tubs and enclosures, swimming pools, hot tubs, septic tanks, water tanks, roofing, pipes, cladding, orthopedic casts, surfboards, and external door skins.
  Other common names for fiberglass are glass-reinforced plastic, glass-fiber reinforced plastic or GFK. Because glass fiber itself is sometimes referred to as "fiberglass", the composite is also called "fiberglass reinforced plastic".
context_section_description: DIY bows / youth recurve; longbows
  Pole vaulting poles
  Equipment handles(Hammers, axes, etc.)
  Traffic lights
  Ship hulls
  Rowing shells and oars
  Waterpipes
  Helicopter rotor blades
  Surfboards, tent poles
  Gliders, kit cars, microcars, karts, bodyshells, kayaks, flat roofs, lorries
  Pods, domes and architectural features where a light weight is necessary
  Auto body parts, and entire auto bodies (e.g. Sabre Sprint, Lotus Elan, Anadol, Reliant, Quantum Quantum Coupé, Chevrolet Corvette and Studebaker Avanti, and DMC DeLorean underbody)
  Antenna covers and structures, such as radomes, UHF broadcasting antennas, and pipes used in hex beam antennas for amateur radio communications
  FRP tanks and vessels: FRP is used extensively to manufacture chemical equipment and tanks and vessels. BS4994 is a British standard related to this application.
  Most commercial velomobiles
  Most printed circuit boards consist of alternating layers of copper and fiberglass FR-4
  Large commercial wind turbine blades
  RF coils used in MRI scanners
  Drum Sets
  Sub-sea installation protection covers
  Reinforcement of asphalt pavement, as a fabric or mesh interlayer between lifts
  Helmets and other protective gear used in various sports
  Orthopedic casts
  Fiberglass grating is used for walkways on ships and oil rigs, and in factories
  Fiber-reinforced composite columns
  Water slides
  sculpture making
  Fish ponds or lining cinder block fish ponds.
caption: Kayaks made of fiberglass
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