Facebook Prize Draw - Christmas 2019 Terms and Conditions

Please read the following terms carefully before entering the prize draw. By entering the prize draw, you agree to the terms.

1. 13 winners will be chosen. The first winner selected will receive 1 x Amazon Echo (3rd Gen); the second and third winners selected will receive 1 x Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) each; the following ten winners selected will receive 1 x £10 Amazon Voucher each.
2. Winning entries will be drawn at random on Monday 16th December, 2019.
3. Promotions are only available for entry by UK residents.
4. Entrants must 'Like' both the CFS Fibreglass Facebook Page AND the appropriate promotional image.
5. Prizes cannot be exchanged for alternative items, equivalent monetary value or vouchers.
6. Prizes will be sent via courier, upon receipt of winner's delivery address. We will attempt to deliver before Christmas where possible.
7. No purchase necessary.
8. We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
9. Our Facebook promotions are in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

CFS are Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award winners!

CFS has won the Feefo Gold Service award, an independent seal of excellence that recognises businesses for delivering exceptional experiences, as rated by real customers.

Created by Feefo, Trusted Service is awarded only to those businesses that use Feefo to collect genuine ratings and reviews. Those that meet the high standard, based on the number of reviews they have collected, and their average rating, are awarded. A badge of honour, this accreditation remains unique, as it is based purely on the interactions with verified customers. As all reviews are verified as genuine, the accreditation is a true reflection of a business’ commitment to outstanding service.

CFS met the criteria of collecting at least 50 reviews between January 1st 2017 and December 31st 2017, with a Feefo service rating of between 4.5 and 5.0.

Chris Willey, CFS commented: “It’s a real honour to receive this award from Feefo. To be recognised for

Facebook Prize Draw: Terms and Conditions

1. Winning entry will be drawn at random using a random number generator, on Wednesday 28th September, 2016.
2. Promotions are only available for entry by UK residents.
3. Entrants must 'Like' both the CFS Fibreglass Facebook Page AND the appropriate promotional post.
4. Prizes cannot be exchanged for alternative items, equivalent monetary value or vouchers.
5. Prizes will be sent via courier, upon receipt of winner's delivery address.
6. No purchase necessary.
7. We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
8. Our Facebook promotions are in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

How to use 2-Part PU (Polyurethane) Foam

This product is absolutely ideal for filling cavities and for increasing buoyancy! It's strong, rigid, and incredibly simple to use. In this post, we'll tell you a bit more about PU Expanding Foam and also share a video we made a few weeks ago.

Producing the foam

Use two plastic cups to measure out an equal volume of each part, then pour both components into a clean mixing container. Ensure you stir thoroughly, but work quickly - the mixture will begin to thicken in just 25-35 seconds, reaching its maximum rise in about 150 seconds. 

The uncured mix is highly adhesive and will bond to most materials. While the mixture is foaming, take care not to inhale the fumes. 

Immediately after mixing, the liquid foam is poured into the cavity to be filled, then left to foam and cure. It will reach a sticky condition in about 4 minutes, and will be completely cured in about half an hour. 

If you are filling a deep cavity, it's a good idea to pour in a series of layers (around 25mm each), leaving the foam to cure between pours. This is because the exotherm (internal heat) generated during the curing process increases with greater volumes of foam, and this can cause problems.

Each liquid kilo of polyurethane yields approximately 0.08m2 (1 cu.ft.) of rigid foam.

Calculations

PU foam is supplied in several pack sizes and it is necessary to calculate the volume of the foam required so as the correct pack size can be selected to minimise wastage. 

This can be done by measuring the cavity and simply multiplying length by width by height (in metres) and dividing by 0.0283. 

This calculation will give the total amount of foam required in kg. 

Example:A buoyancy tank measuring, 0.5m (length) x 0.5m (width) x 0.5m (height) = 0.13m3. 

Divide this figure by 0.0283 = 4.59 

Therefore the total liquid foam required is 4.59kg (1 x 5kg pack)

Customer Focus: BenofkentProps

We spoke to Ben Smith, Owner of BenofkentProps, about his brilliant business, and which of our products he uses to get his fantastic results.

Tell us briefly about what the company does?

BenofkentProps builds from scratch and recreates props from TV and films, as well as doing custom props for music mideos and independent films.

How did you find yourself making these products?

I had a keen interest in building since I was a child, watching my father build. I then attended a theatre college at sixteen and learned to prop build.

How long has your company been in business?

CFS Receive Gold Feefo Award!

We're incredibly proud to announce that we have been awarded Gold Trusted Merchant status by Feefo for 2016!

We currently have a 97% positive rating for our service, and a massive 99% positive rating for our products - this is a fantastic achievement and one that reflects all the hard work that our team puts in on a daily basis.

We strive to provide excellent service from the moment we answer the phone or receive your first order, right through to packing, delivery and technical advice. That's why we're so grateful when you tell us what you loved, what you weren't keen on, and how we can do better next time!

CFS has expanded over the past year or so with huge milestones like the re-design of our website and the fact that we now regularly ship overseas - meaning that feedback from our customers is more important than ever.

A huge well done to all our staff - keep up the good work!



What is Feefo?

Feefo is a ratings and reviews platform providing consumers with the most trusted feedback ratings available and providing merchants with an independent, easy to use service that generates genuine responses from real consumers.

Click here for more information.

CHRISTMAS DELIVERY INFORMATION!

CFS offices are open until 5pm on Wednesday 23rd December 2015.

We will be closed for Christmas from Thursday 24th December 2015, re-opening Monday 4th January 2016 at 08:30.

To ensure deliveries arrive to you BEFORE Christmas please note the following:

NEXT DAY orders must be placed by 1pm on Tuesday 22nd December

THREE DAY orders must be placed by 1pm on Friday 18th December

Full delivery services will resume from Monday 4th January 2016.

Any orders placed online over the Christmas break will be processed when the office re-opens.

WIN a 64GB iPad Air 2 in our Free Prize Draw!

Our fabulous Christmas offer is here!

We thought we'd do things a little differently this year, so we're going to give one lucky customer a 64GB iPad Air 2!

All you have to do is place an order on our website between now and midnight on 17th December and you'll automatically be entered into the prize draw!

Keep it for yourself, or give an amazing gift! Either way, it's a pretty good Christmas.

Good luck!

You can read all the rules and regs here.

The New CFS Catalogue is Out Now!

It's been a long time coming, but the new catalogue is finally here!

Ellie has been busy working on the content and design for months, so when the final draft was sent off to St Austell Printers, she and Paul took a trip up there to see the whole process in action!

You can watch the video below.

If you've already received one from us, we'd love to know what you think of the new look.

If you'd like to order one for yourself, click here!

Andy dons a helmet!

If you've been a customer of ours for a while, you may remember that one of our longest standing members of staff, Andy, retired in October last year.

Now, knowing that Andy is a bit of a petrol head - we thought we'd treat him to a day driving some awesome cars around Castle Combe Circuit! (Better than a carriage clock, eh?)

This Month In Fibreglass: December 2014

This month's Christmas special is all about ridiculous GRP (Glass Reinforced Pressies). Let's be honest, do you really want these things? Really? ....You should all be ashamed.

Sith Gear

This car can sense your presents

What would Darth Vader choose to take Mrs Vader to the McDonalds drive-thru? How about a bespoke corvette modelled on a distorted version of the mask that covers the disgusting burned remains of his real face. Well Darth does still have an ego to maintain and that could be why Hot Wheels have had this real car made to feature their new Star Wars themed toy car range.

A fond farewell...

The CFS Team

It was a funny sort of day in the CFS office yesterday, as we waved goodbye to one of the longest serving members of the team.

Tips for Restoring Faded Gelcoat

Time takes its toll - sun, salt and sea water will oxidise gelcoat, stealing the shine and leaving a rough, dull surface. The question is, if GRP is so good, why does this happen? It's simply that Gelcoat suffers from both oxidation and UV attack. Now, oxidation and UV damage are not the same thing. They don't have the same effect on a boat's finish and it's important to know the differences between them. Oxidation, caused by exposure to oxygen, results in the chalking you see on the palm of your hand when you touch an unprotected boat. This process is slowed by good maintenance and this means regular waxing, protecting the gelcoat from the elements.
UV damage is increased if you don't maintain the shine of your gelcoat. Shiny surfaces reflect UV rays better than dull surfaces and UV rays not only cause discolourations but can mechanically degrade the Gelcoat.
While oxidation only affects the surface, UV damage penetrates the full thickness of the gelcoat and can even damage the fibreglass beneath it. So, keeping oxidation under control will also keep UV damage at bay.
However, despite your best efforts, you will, eventually, find yourself losing the shine. Surfaces may look dull and tired and also feel rough to the touch. It may be time to consider some plastic surgery.

Blue turning white. This neglected gelcoat requires more than a quick wax!

Customer Focus: The Twins FX

For the third Customer Focus, we spoke to The Twins FX, one of the leading companies operating in the field of theatrical, visual special effects, illusions and animatronics.  

We had a chat with Gary and Paul Hardy-Brown, Directors of the company, and asked them exactly what they do and the process involved in creating such weird and wonderful effects.

Animatronic Dragon with 10m wingspan

Happy New Year from CFS!

We'd like to welcome all our customers into the brand new year the right way - with a fantastic offer on Protective Equipment throughout January!

See you next year!

We'll see you in 2013! 

Stuck for a Christmas present?

There's always someone on the list that has a big fat '?' next to their name.

We have found the solution!!

BUY THEM A BATMOBILE...

Customer Focus: Names In Lights

For the very first Customer Focus, we spoke to Names In Lights. Based in Wirral, they make custom decorative lights – mainly in the shape of words, although they have been known to dabble in something a little different. The lights are made using our clear cast resin, strengthening and UV additives, and occasionally our gelcoats and topcoats on bespoke projects.

We spoke to Jill Bonner, one of the partners there, about how they came to create their lights and how they do it.

Shipping Container Supplies

Do you have a shipping container that’s in need of some TLC?
Why not visit CFS’s new website – www.shippingcontainersupplies.com. We’ve got everything you need to keep your container looking its best, including rust treatment, industrial paints and primers, traffic film remover and much more.

We aim to be the one-stop-shop for all your shipping container maintenance needs. If there's anything you need that we don't currently supply, drop us a line at sales@cfsnet.co.uk and we'll see what we can do!

Life Casting with Grotesque FX Studio

Just in time for Halloween, we went down to see Steve Hollins at the spooky Grotesque FX Studio in Camborne, and watched him work his magic on Alex, our very own Technical Advisor. Alex wanted a mould of his head taken, and Steve is just the man for the job. 


Steve's workshop appears very unassuming as you approach, but when you open the door you're greeted by a sea of disembodied heads, hands and feet, as well as some creatures that have never been seen before...

The whole process of life casting is very involved, and Alex went through various stages - from bald cap, right through to mummification!