Aquatex River

First, your layout and backdrop look amazing.  I wouldn’t paint the glass. You may find you don’t like the shade of green you used when it’s on the plywood, as the glass will change the color slightly,. The beauty of the glass is that it can be easily cleaned/dusted. I painted my canal green and let it completely dry . Put the glass on carefully, no scratches in the green plywood base or glass.  On my last layout I painted the bottom of the aquatex,  then realized I didn’t like the color. Unfixable! JohnA

To clarify- paint the plywood, NOT the glass. JohnA

I agree with John A about the backdrop. Fantastic! Did you paint it?

I didn't paint the backdrop. My wife somehow whipped it up in a couple of days. A talent I didn't know she had.

Regarding the paint on the glass, I did compare the glass painted vs. hardboard painted. I am happy with the same color that Dennis Brennan used so the color will be ok for me. I am prone to paint the glass even though I risk scatches and an expensive unchangeable color. The reflectivity of the painted glass does give a mirror-like surface that to me really looks like river water. I think i just have to decide on the latex or oil-based spray.

I was a little confused- I thought you were talking about painting the TOP of the glass when you were worried about scratches.  Painting the bottom will be fine . Share pix of the final results. JohnA

I took a look at my post and it is confusing.  I guess I was thinking everyone knew Dennis Brennan's method since I read it may times. I left out that the Rust-Oleum is on the wavy underside of the glass.  I am concerned about the installation because I will have to slide the glass over the base with the potential for scratching the paint.

Anyway, I think I will use the Rust-oleum spray and (unless someone says using the latex is a bad idea) then cover it with several coats of the latex as a protective layer for the installation.

I will be happy to post some pictures when it is installed.

I think it will work out fine, JohnA

Glass painted and installed. In the process planning piers, shoreline and a girder bridge. 

Looks wonderful, great work!

Great large body of water!! JohnA

Looks fantastic!

That came out very nicely!  Well done. 

I used tempered glass and a painted wood base beneath it for Panhandle 1.

The problem with this technique is that the glass is heavy and unwieldy and can scratch your painted river bottom.

For Panhandle 2, I tried something different.  I used a mix and pour product called Woodland Scenics Deep Pour Water.  It comes in both Clear and Murky.  I used the Murky version to pour my 8' wide Ohio River (~2400 square inches).  That took a lot of boxes of the stuff but it came out beautifully.  And it's a lot less hassle than the glass method.

George

Thank you all for your feedback.  George, I like the way your glass river blends into your background.  I have to employ the original background artist to somehow blend the river into the backdrop as well.  I'm going to try to hide most of it with a wide girder bridge.  Panhandle 2 also looks great and looks like real murky water.  I was afraid to even try using an epoxy-type product to pour my river.  I thought it may take more more than a gallon of material and end with a disastrous leak.  You are right about handling the glass, it was heavy and unwieldy (75 lbs).  It took three people to place it on the layout without breaking it since it is not tempered.

I also picked the glass because of another resident in the house.  I'm sure he intends to take a nap in the river.

Joe

@JVM-51 posted:

Thank you all for your feedback.  George, I like the way your glass river blends into your background.  I have to employ the original background artist to somehow blend the river into the backdrop as well.  I'm going to try to hide most of it with a wide girder bridge.  Panhandle 2 also looks great and looks like real murky water.  I was afraid to even try using an epoxy-type product to pour my river.  I thought it may take more more than a gallon of material and end with a disastrous leak.  You are right about handling the glass, it was heavy and unwieldy (75 lbs).  It took three people to place it on the layout without breaking it since it is not tempered.

I also picked the glass because of another resident in the house.  I'm sure he intends to take a nap in the river.

Joe

Joe,

The epoxy products can leak, but there are precautions that can prevent that.  Send me e-mail (in my profile).

George

Joe the river couldn't have turned out any better.  Was the piece of Aquatex larger than a shower door?  Glad you had help installing it.  Too bad Silvio couldn't lend a paw with the glass.

Hello Coach, the glass was 39 x 84 inches.  A shower door is about 30 x 60 -72 inches.  My neighbor gave me two old shower doors, but I couldn't make them fill the space without nasty seams so I had to ditch them.  I also learned that you can't cut tempered glass so it really made it impossible for me to use. 

It has to be untempered to cut to size.  I was just asking if it was bigger than a shower door because I know how unwieldy they can be, and that's just putting them in the track, not trying to support them horizontally above a delicate surface.

Hi, its been eight months since I posted pictures of progress on the river. I will try to post them in sequence to show the progression. Thanks goes to Dennis Brennan for all the guidance and detailed instructions in his Sandy Harbor Terminal Ry book which I tried to incorporate into my layout.

Hi JVM-51,

That's an amazing effect. The reflections look fantastic.  Congratulations!

John

Thanks John. I find the glass to be unbelievably realistic. Sometimes it looks to me like it is flowing.

Joe