painting on glass (waterfall)

[carpersign]

I'm running out of options. Have a customer who has an indoor waterfall that goes over a piece of glass, around 4x6' in size. He wants his
logo on the glass where the water goes over it. I have tried vinyl, (gerber 3M cast) and the edges lift up after several weeks.
The last thing I tried was paint (one shot gold metallic). That only lasted a few hours.
Any ideas on what to put on this or how to get the paint to stick with the water constantly flowing over it?
He does not want to sandblast it.
Carper Signs, Mount Joy, PA

 

[iSign]

I can imagine he doesn't want it sandblasted because sandblasting an "existing" piece of glass would be expensive, even if it wasn't already installed into a water feature...

...but what about a custom cut logo "panel" out of acrylic, with a routed logo, bonded to the glass surface? ..or even another full size 4' x 6' acrylic sheet, with engraved logo & add LED edge lighting to get real fancy

 

[rjssigns]

Install vinyl on the back side(second surface). If it's a mirror and has to go first surface put down vinyl then seal the edges or whole thing with automotive clear.

 

[rjssigns]

I can imagine he doesn't want it sandblasted because sandblasting an "existing" piece of glass would be expensive, even if it wasn't already installed into a water feature...

...but what about a custom cut logo "panel" out of acrylic, with a routed logo, bonded to the glass surface? ..or even another full size 4' x 6' acrylic sheet, with engraved logo & add LED edge lighting to get real fancy

I like both of these ideas.

 

[iSign]

or maybe chemically etching the original glass surface with a vinyl stencil & the acid paste or whatever people use... probably the cheapest idea, plus you might be able to get a good enamel paint to stick to the etched surface for a more dramatic contrast

 

[Billct2]

I wonder if it may be an issue with the glass, since nothing seems to stick to it.

 

[carpersign]

Thanks for your ideas. I thought about the raised panel with the lettering on the inside, but that will cause a ripple in the waterfall.
Never heard of chemical etching, the big problem would be if it doesn't work right, the mirrow would be ruined.
Sealing the edge-afraid the the fate of the sealer would be the same as of the paint, it would just lift off.
Would gilding it work?

 

[visual800]

Not to be one to scold you off the bat but I would walk away from this job. Back in the day oneshot would have stayed on that glass for 20 years. Thats just not the case anymore

Explain to him he has water constantly running over this and the ONLY thing to do is etch it. if you need glass etching , blasting.we can do that

 

[OldPaint]

what would be the best route............
got a WINDOW company near ya?
take one sheet of glass, put logo on either vinyl or paint........take it back to the glass company, and have them make a DOUBLE PANE WINDOW....... with the logo inside.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

I can see two options. Sand blast somewhere and paint recess. Apply vinyl to back side.

 

[rjssigns]

Blast or chemical etch silvering off back of mirror then paint. Completely protected.

As was mentioned there may be something in the glass. Glass is processed with some type of silicone and if not done correctly turns the glass into non-stick.

We ran into this on a van. Got this info from our window tint buddy. He told us how nothing would ever stay for more than a couple days. Said it is not uncommon.

 

[Pat Whatley]

If it's a mirror and you can get access to the rear of it then it's easy.
Take it off. The back of is probably painted to protect the silver. Strip the paint off the section you want to put the logo in with Aircraft Paint Remover. I don't know what they paint those things with but nothing else has ever worked for me. Apply a reverse vinyl mask to that area. Wipe it down with MSR http://www.antiqued-mirrors.com/id9.html MSR is AWESOME! The silver will just disappear leaving perfectly smooth, clear glass behind. Paint the cleared area the color you want. Apply vinyl to protect the paint and silver in the area you stripped. Reinstall. Perfect results.

 

[CMGman]

Old post but this may help someone else. This may be extreme but if the glass could be removed and able to be screen printed by a company that has a tempering oven, the logo could be screen printed any color using ceramic frit then permanently baked into the glass. Ceramic fit creates a permanent bond with the glass that will not come off and does not disappear when water is ran over it like sandblasted or chemically etch glass. The fact that it is available in almost any color is a huge advantage as well.