First valance piece installed

I test mounted the first valance board to valance brackets today. The depth of the valance (19”) seems fine hanging over the 24” deep benchwork. The board is mounted with a machine screw, fender washer and nut (SWN). There will be two of these SWN setups per bracket. With just two total SWN setups currently holding up the entire 48” piece of OSB, the mounting seems to be very sturdy.

The OSB is painted with two coats of white primer. I did this thinking it would help reflect more light onto the railroad. Looking at the valance in place, I am not happy with the white. The white stands out way too much (for me) against the blue painted backdrop band. When operating, because of my height, I probably wouldn’t notice the white. I’m sure operators shorter than me, would notice the white against the blue. But I think if the OSB was blue, it wouldn’t nearly be as noticeable. So…I’m going to take down the test piece, paint it blue and see how it looks.

When the entire valance is installed, I’ll eventually paint the washer and nut so they also are less noticeable. Stay tuned.