A retired friend owns a cabin cruiser with a cockpit roof made from marine plywood. Late last year he employed a company to 'fibreglass' the outside to give it protection from the elements. He has now found that the 'fibreglass' has delaminated and has asked me to fix it. I am a carpenter but I did get the chance to use fibreglass at school (making model boats from a wooden mould) but that was a good many years ago! No doubt things have changed a lot since then.

Searching the web for these symptoms suggests that polyester resin was used, not epoxy. So the questions now are:-

1. Is there an easy way to tell what resin was used? One site suggested sanding the cured resin and smelling for the characteristically sweetish smell of polyester resin, or a more pungent smell of epoxy. Are they right?

2. If it is polyester that was used, should I strip it all off, back to the bare wood, then recoat with epoxy resin?

3. Which of your products would you recommend and what quantity? The roof is approx. 2m x 2m.

4. Should I incorporate a glass mat into the resin, or would it be strong enough just bonded to the plywood?

5. Any other tips, suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Paul - Woodcrafts