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Peter Gibson developed a process to use a fiberglass topcoat to resurface swimming pools
Composites manufacturers are always looking for new ways to stick out from their competition. Peter Gibson, owner of GRC Fiberglass Coatings, has announced a new system he says will represent the next step forward in pool repair.
He has developed a process to use a fiberglass topcoat to resurface swimming pools. Gibson says that topcoats using traditional materials lead to problems such as cobalting and blister development, obstacles he believes this new system will overcome.
“What we do is we take an existing swimming pool that’s got a cement-based material on it and then we prepare the surface and spray fiberglass lining into the interior of the swimming pool,” said Gibson. The topcoat is approximately 1,000 micrometers thick, and differs from conventional fiberglass methods such as hand layup in that the micro glass reinforcement is incorporated into the resin matrix and sprayed as a homogeneous mass.
Gibson says the biggest challenge was that the materials he needed for the process didn’t exist. “I, in conjunction with resin scientists and manufacturers, developed materials that are not off-the-shelf materials to produce the materials specifically for this application. That was the biggest challenge, that there were no materials that existed historically,” he said.
The collaboration with the manufacturers was not easy, as Gibson said a difference in philosophy also proved to be a challenge. “You’re talking to resin manufacturers that are not familiar with field work but rather with fabrication environment and controlled conditions,” he said. “So you try to talk to them about field work, but they don’t really know what that is. So we keep on using their vernacular and talking about parts. But there’s no such part in what we were doing, so they keep on talking about parts and not knowing what the challenges are in designing resin materials for field work.”
“These challenges, like when resins don’t cure in the presence of oxygen, was one of the big problems using an off-the-shelf resin, it didn’t cure properly,” said Gibson. “Another problem was that if resin was exposed to sunlight, it would turn yellow. A common objection was you’ll never use vinyl-ester resin and maintain color in the presence of sunlight, but I overcame that.”
It has taken Gibson about four years to tweak the product to proper curing. Now, his next challenge will be to market the process. “I’m in the infancy stage of approaching other individuals,” he said. “I’m trying to sell it to them not only as a business opportunity but also to increase exposure of the industry as a whole.”
