Reynolds Polymer R-Cast Acrylic Pool Windows and Aquarium Panels
The Grand Junction, Colorado fabricator behind the London Sky Pool, the Seattle Aquarium window, and the world's largest single acrylic panel. Cell-cast R-Cast acrylic, in-house engineering, and a dealer network for residential pool walls. The benchmark, at benchmark prices.
By Sergio Igartua, Founder & Editor · Updated · How we research
Key facts
- Reynolds Polymer Technology, founded in 1987, makes R-Cast cell-cast acrylic in Grand Junction, Colorado.
- Reynolds Polymer builds acrylic pool windows and aquarium panels, including single pool panels up to 9 × 23 ft.
- Reynolds Polymer says its bonded seams reach up to 90 percent of the acrylic's own strength.
- Cost guides put a 4 × 8 ft Reynolds pool panel at about $10,000 to $25,000 installed.
- AcrylicWindow.com rates Reynolds Polymer 4.7 out of 5 as the benchmark for pool windows and large aquariums.
Pros
- Casts its own thick-gauge acrylic (R-Cast) rather than buying sheet, so panel thickness and size are not limited by a supplier
- Single pool panels up to 9 × 23 ft; bonded aquarium panels to 130 ft long, 27 ft tall, and 3 ft thick
- Proprietary seam bond retains up to 90 percent of the parent material's strength with almost no optical distortion
- Every project is engineered in-house; residential work goes through certified dealers who also install
- Track record across 35-plus years: Seattle Aquarium, Resorts World Sentosa, Embassy Gardens Sky Pool, Market Square Tower
Cons
- Quote-only, and third-party estimates put a modest residential window in the five figures before the pool is built around it
- Installation is 30 to 50 percent of the budget on top of the panel
- Acrylic scratches; the surface is restorable by polishing, but it is a maintenance item on a pool wall
- Residential buyers deal with a dealer, not the factory, so experience varies by region
Specifications
| Material | R-Cast cell-cast acrylic, made in-house |
| Maker | Reynolds Polymer Technology, Grand Junction, Colorado |
| Largest single pool panel | 9 × 23 ft in one piece |
| Largest bonded panel | 130 ft long, 27 ft tall, 3 ft thick (per company, 2017) |
| Notable panel | Resorts World Sentosa, 118 ft wide, 27 ft tall, nearly 28 in thick |
| Forming | Thermoformed curves, cylinders, tunnels, infinity edges |
| Seams | Proprietary bond, up to 90% of parent strength, near-zero distortion |
| Engineering | Fully engineered in-house |
| Residential sales | Through certified dealers, e.g. Swimming Pool Windows LLC, St. Augustine, FL |
| Facilities | Grand Junction, CO (75,000 sq ft, since 1992); Rayong, Thailand (since 2000) |
| Employees | About 200, roughly 100 in Grand Junction (2017) |
| Founded | 1987, Southern California; moved to Colorado 1992 |
| Price | About $150–$300+ per sq ft installed; 4×8 ft panel $10,000–$25,000 |
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Our Verdict
If you want a transparent pool wall, an underwater window, or a serious custom aquarium, this is the company the others measure themselves against. Budget for the engineering and the install, not just the acrylic, and pick a dealer with a portfolio you can go stand in front of.
Overview
Reynolds Polymer Technology is the reason acrylic is the material of choice for aquarium walls and see-through pools. The company began as a division of a Southern California aerospace firm in the early 1980s, spun out on its own in May 1987, and in 1992 moved into a 75,000-square-foot plant in Grand Junction, Colorado, where it still casts, forms, bonds, and finishes its panels. A second plant opened in Rayong, Thailand in 2000 for panels under four inches thick and was expanded in 2013. As of 2017 the company employed about 200 people, half of them in Grand Junction, and exported more than half of what it made.
What makes it different from a plastics fabricator is that it makes the plastic. R-Cast is the company's own cell-cast acrylic, produced in thick gauges that no sheet supplier stocks, which is what lets it build a panel 28 inches thick or bond several into a wall the size of a building. This review covers what that capability means for a homeowner or designer who wants a pool window or a custom tank, what it costs, and what to expect from the process. We have not commissioned a panel; the facts here come from Reynolds Polymer's own pages, a trade article by Nate Reynolds, a 2017 manufacturing profile, and third-party cost guides, all listed at the end.
What they build
The pool and spa division makes infinity-edge acrylic walls, underwater viewing panels, and custom curved shapes, with single panels up to 9 by 23 feet. The portfolio reads like a list of famous pools: the Embassy Gardens Sky Pool suspended between two London buildings, the cantilevered pool at Market Square Tower in Houston, the Joule Hotel in Dallas, the Golden Nugget and Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, and a skylight pool in Thailand.
The aquarium side is older and bigger. The Seattle Aquarium's window is 20 feet tall and 40 feet wide, installed at an angle. The panel at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore is 118 feet wide, 27 feet tall, and nearly 28 inches thick, the largest single acrylic panel in the world. Berlin's AquaDom cylinder was eight inches thick at the bottom and tapered to four at the top. In 2017 the company said it could produce bonded mega-panels 130 feet long, 27 feet tall, and three feet thick, and that no one else could.
How the panels are made and joined
Big panels are cast, not extruded, which matters for two reasons. Cast acrylic has better optical clarity and stress behavior than extruded sheet, and casting in-house means the thickness is whatever the water-pressure calculation says it should be rather than whatever a distributor has on the rack. Curves, cylinders, and tunnels are thermoformed from the cast stock.
When a window is larger than one casting, panels are bonded. Nate Reynolds described the company's process as retaining up to 90 percent of the parent material's strength while generating almost zero optical distortion at the joint. The 2017 profile calls the seam bond introduced in 2015 proprietary. On a pool wall this is the difference between a seam you notice and one you do not. Reynolds also states that scratches and surface defects can be polished out and the surface restored to its original state, which is the standard acrylic answer and true, but on a pool wall it means periodic maintenance rather than none.
Buying one for a house
Reynolds Polymer engineers every project in-house, but residential pool windows are sold and installed through certified dealers. Swimming Pool Windows LLC in St. Augustine, Florida, for example, has been fabricating and installing acrylic pool panels for more than two decades and works with architects, designers, and contractors on residential and commercial jobs. The dealer page lists no prices, sizes, or lead times, and neither does the factory; everything is quoted.
For a sense of scale, Hammerhead Aquatics, a Las Vegas builder with three decades in the business, puts a medium 4-by-8-foot acrylic panel at $10,000 to $25,000 and large custom walls at $40,000 and up, with installation running 30 to 50 percent of the budget. A 2025 cost guide from Vitreusart estimates premium acrylic pool walls at $150 to $300-plus per square foot installed. Neither figure is specific to Reynolds Polymer, and the thicker cast panel a Reynolds dealer will specify for a given depth is not the cheapest way to fill the opening. It is the way to fill it once.
What to expect
Hammerhead's guidance on pool windows is worth repeating because it applies regardless of manufacturer: proper framing, anchoring, and waterproof sealing are the critical details, the installer should have 10 to 15 years of experience with this exact kind of work, and the panel should be inspected annually. Acrylic pool windows are expected to last 20 to 30 years or more with polishing. If a contractor proposes to set a panel in a rebate with silicone and no engineering, that is the moment to walk away.
Who should buy it
Anyone building a pool with a transparent wall, an underwater window, or a spa panel who intends the house to be worth more for it, and anyone commissioning a custom aquarium beyond the sizes hobby manufacturers offer. For a tank under a few hundred gallons, our Clear-For-Life and SeaClear reviews cover the factory-made options at a fraction of the price. For the material itself, our acrylic vs glass guide explains why aquariums went acrylic in the first place.
Sources
- Reynolds Polymer: Luxury pools and spas, acrylic aquarium manufacturer, Seattle Aquarium project, and Resorts World Sentosa project
- Reynolds Polymer certified dealer: Swimming Pool Windows LLC
- WaterShapes: Shining Through, by Nate Reynolds
- US Manufacturing Report: Reynolds Polymer Technology (2017) and Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: From London Sky Pool to aquariums
- Hammerhead Aquatics: Underwater pool window types, pros, and cost (2025) and Vitreusart: Acrylic swimming pool cost breakdown for 2025
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Reynolds Polymer acrylic pool window cost?
Reynolds Polymer sells by quote, and neither the factory nor its dealers publish prices. Third-party guides give the scale: Hammerhead Aquatics, a Las Vegas builder, puts a medium 4 by 8 foot acrylic panel at $10,000 to $25,000 and large custom walls at $40,000 and up, with installation running 30 to 50 percent of the budget. A 2025 Vitreusart guide estimates $150 to $300-plus per square foot installed. Neither figure is specific to Reynolds.
What is Reynolds Polymer R-Cast acrylic?
R-Cast is Reynolds Polymer Technology's own cell-cast acrylic, made in-house at its Grand Junction, Colorado plant in thick gauges no sheet supplier stocks. Because the company makes the plastic rather than buying it, panel thickness follows the water-pressure calculation rather than what a distributor has on the rack. Curves, cylinders, and tunnels are thermoformed from the cast stock, and oversize walls are made by bonding panels together.
How big can a Reynolds Polymer acrylic panel be?
Single pool panels from Reynolds Polymer run up to 9 by 23 feet in one piece. Bonded panels go much larger: in 2017 the company said it could produce mega-panels 130 feet long, 27 feet tall, and three feet thick. Its Resorts World Sentosa panel in Singapore is 118 feet wide, 27 feet tall, and nearly 28 inches thick, the largest single acrylic panel in the world, and the Seattle Aquarium window is 20 feet tall by 40 feet wide.
How do you buy a Reynolds Polymer pool window for a house?
Reynolds Polymer engineers every project in-house but sells and installs residential pool windows through certified dealers, such as Swimming Pool Windows LLC in St. Augustine, Florida, which has fabricated and installed acrylic pool panels for more than two decades. Everything is quoted; neither the dealer pages nor the factory list prices, sizes, or lead times. Because buyers deal with a dealer rather than the factory, experience varies by region.
How long do Reynolds Polymer acrylic pool windows last?
Acrylic pool windows are expected to last 20 to 30 years or more with polishing, per Hammerhead Aquatics. Reynolds Polymer states that scratches and surface defects can be polished out and the surface restored to its original state, which means a pool wall is a periodic maintenance item rather than a no-maintenance one. Hammerhead also advises annual inspection, proper framing, anchoring, and waterproof sealing, and an installer with 10 to 15 years of this exact work.
Is Reynolds Polymer worth it for an acrylic pool or aquarium window?
Reynolds Polymer is the company others in this field measure themselves against, with more than 35 years behind projects including the Seattle Aquarium, Resorts World Sentosa, the Embassy Gardens Sky Pool, and Market Square Tower, plus a seam bond that retains up to 90 percent of parent strength with almost no optical distortion. It is worth it for a transparent pool wall or a serious custom aquarium, provided the budget covers engineering and installation, not just the panel.