Best Substrate For Glass Mosaic

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Shayla

Shayla

WOW Framer
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One of our artists is playing with glass mosaics. For this, she used grout applied to wood. For this and another, she used plywood. (They are 12" square.) For one half the size, she used MDF. Applied the grout right to the boards, with no other coatings. I've told her that MDF can absorb moisture and warp or fall apart. Have encouraged her to do a larger piece, and we'd like to know what the best substrate is. If she keeps using wood, is it better with acrylic sealant on first? Or if something else, any special prep? I even wondered about something like Dibond.

glass mosaic art abstract II resized.jpg

glass mosaic detail resized.jpg
 
How bout exterior plywood?
 
Shayla, did you see this other thread...?
It might be useful.
www.thegrumble.com

Best adhesive for fused glass to wood support?

A customer just brought in a few pieces of fused glass art, about 1/4" thick, that are quite heavy (relatively speaking). Of course she doesn't want a traditional frame. What we came up with was attaching the art to a frame cut from 1x2 poplar, smaller than the piece, and attached to the back...
www.thegrumble.com www.thegrumble.com
 
There is a construction material called Hardie Board. It is essentially a fiberglass reinforced cement panel and comes in a variety of thicknesses and sizes.
Something to consider since any wood product will require prep before use and will eventually decompose.
 
We have done this type of thing for hotels and have always used 3/4" Baltic Birch. Most plywood has voids throughout the thickness, Baltic Birch does not. Also best for holding screws for hanging. You can also look at a product called Wonder Board. It is used behind tile in bathrooms and works real well with thinset epoxy adhesive and grout. Looks like concrete and a bit of a pain to cut but you woul dnever need to worry about moisture and warping.
 
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