Name: The Ultimate Guide on DIY Antique Mirrors + Video
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The Ultimate Guide on DIY Antique Mirrors + Video

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 Skip to contentI am obsessed with mirrors especially antiqued mirrors. I love adding a mirror to every room and one that looks antique just adds so much character to it.I’ve made many antique mirrors and some have turned out awful and some are perfection! I know all the tricks of how to avoid making an awful antique mirror and wanted to share my knowledge with you so you can avoid my past mistakes. Here is my Ultimate Guide on DIY antique mirrors.When antiquing a mirror, it can be really difficult to get right. If you’ve taken too much of the reflective background off you are left with just glass.When I say ‘antiquing a mirror’, I mean taking off some of the reflective material on the back of the mirror to have spots of black show through. Over time older mirrors would tend to do this naturally. By antiquing your own mirror, you are creating this old patina yourself as today’s mirrors are made to not flake off on the back.First, here are the parts of a mirror so you have a better understanding of how to antique it.GlassReflective material (usually aluminum, tin, silver or copper melted over the glass)PaintRemoving the paint from the back of the mirror.Removing a bit of the protective shiny material on the glass with muriatic acid.Painting the back with paint.You want to work from the back of the mirror.Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.1.Lay down a drop cloth in a well ventilated area (garage or outside) then lay down a sheet of plastic larger than your mirror (I typically cut open garbage bags and lay them flat).2. Remove the mirror from the frame and lay face down with the painted side facing up.3. Pour on a generous amount of paint stripper and spread it on evenly with a chip brush. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes. You’ll want to make sure the stripper doesn’t dry out in that time frame. If it does, add more.4. Test an area to see if the paint is starting to lift up. If it is, scrape off the paint with the plastic scraper right onto the plastic. If some paint is left behind you might need to add more paint stripper and remove again but it almost always it comes off one time. Note: the paint may bubble like the photo or it may not.5. Wash the area with water and a wet paper towel or a wet soft cloth. Move the mirror and roll up all the plastic and dispose of it properly. Lay down the mirror onto the drop cloth and wash again with water and a cloth to make sure all the residue is gone.Tip: You can also wash the mirror off by hosing it off under water in the backyard or in a tub of water.The next major part of antiquing a mirror is to remove some of the reflective material. You have to work fast so be sure to have everything that you need close by.So there are two ways you can apply&nbsp;muriatic acid:spraying on with a spray bottledabbing on with a cloth&nbsp;Spray bottle – this will give you a subtle antiquing effect and if you spray just around the edges, it will create a more natural look. It depends on what kind of look you are going for to determine which method you’d like to use.Dabbing with a cloth – you can see in the photo below where I’ve dabbed on the muriatic acid the muriatic acid (dark spot in the middle doesn’t have acid). Wearing chemical gloves, I poured some of the acid into a plastic container (carefully) and dipped a soft cloth into the acid and dabbed the cloth onto the mirror.&nbsp;In this tutorial, I use a spray bottle technique.6. Wearing face protection and gloves, carefully pour the muriatic acid in the spray bottle with a funnel. You can also dab the muriatic acid with a cloth directly onto the mirror but I find spraying it on easier. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WITH MURIATIC ACID AS IT CAN GIVE YOU A CHEMICAL BURN.7. Spray all along the sides of the mirror (this is typically where an antique mirror natural ages). Dab off immediately with a damp cloth. Spray again and dab. Wash the area again and lift up the mirror to see the other side to see how much has come off. Keep spraying and dabbing until you are satisfied with the amount of reflective film that has come off.&nbsp;Note: If you take too much off, all you are left with is plain glass so take it off a little bit at a time. Check out Tips &amp; Tricks below and my YouTube video on how to fix that!8. Wash again with water and a soft cloth to make sure all the muriatic acid is removed and let it dry.9. Paint on two coats of paint with a roller or brush letting dry at least one hour in between coats. I like to use gold or a charcoal grey. Whatever color you choose, is the color that will show through from where you removed the reflective film. Once completely dry, put the mirror back in the frame.Before you start, you want to remove the mirror from the frame itself. Seems like an obvious step, right? The mirror insert from my rustic mirror was so well glued in that I tried to do this technique without removing it from the frame and it just made a huge mess. Even if you have to take it to a glass shop to remove the mirror, it’s worth the extra step. If there are no obvious nails or hooks holding the mirror in, you can take a blade to cut away the seal (usually silicone) or take it to a glass shop to remove.Don’t swirl the muriactic acid around to remove the reflective filmI had to go to the glass shop to get another piece of glass cut for it.Now that you’ve taken the paint off and antiqued your mirror, you will have to paint the back of the mirror. Because you have removed some of the reflective material, it essentially becomes glass so you’ll definitely need to paint it.Most often I paint the back of the mirror black or grey but painting it gold or bronze is so beautiful, especially with a gold mirror frame.You can brush the paint on with regular acrylic paint and a paint brush (I’ve even used chalk paint and it works fine). You can also spray paint the back of it.I hope you found my Ultimate Guide to DIY antique mirrors helpful! I hope with these tips you’ll feel confident to antique/DIY/age your own mirror today.Be sure to watch my YouTube video on how to antique a mirror including all my tips and tricks!To download this 6 page PDF guide, subscribe to my newsletter.&nbsp;If you are already a subscriber, you’ll have access to the printable in your inbox.Make sure to pin it for later!Free PDF – How to Antique a MirrorAnthropologie Inspired French Gold MirrorsLooking for the best white paint color? Simply White by Benjamin Moore is my favorite! Here are 12 houses that showcase Simply White paint color. The Best White Paint Color Simply White by Benjamin Moore is hands down my favourite go-to white paint color. When my house was being renovated, I did lots of research…It is so satisfying to take something that was trash and rework it into a treasure, check out my artwork makeover. Today I was browsing at the Sally Ann and came across this little gem of a painting and instantly knew I could take it from trash to treasure! I wanted to stay within my…I turned black frames into vintage gold frames with beautiful patina. Check out how! If you’ve been following along on my mini dining room transformation, you’ll remember that I removed the cabinet with my collectibles in it, that Aaron installed the picture frame moulding, then we painted the inside of the frames and now the…Today I’m sharing an easy way to update old pottery by dipping them in paint. I’ve also added greenery to my dining room for spring! I love a good upcycle project – taking something from a thrift shop and giving it new life. I found some pottery spice jars last year at my local thrift…Check out my tutorial on how to create a Frozen photo backdrop and table decor for a kid’s birthday party. Do you remember that I’ve shown you two Frozen birthday parties? Well, one was actually a Marie Antoinette Let Us Eat Cake party but we invited Anna as my daughter loves all the pretty princesses….I gave my front porch a makeover by painting the brick pavers and it turned out amazing! The brick pavers on my front door step need a major overhaul (and the driveway) but it’s not in the budget right now. I had leftover paint from when we&nbsp;painted the patio concrete slab like an outdoor rug…Oh my thank you for all this information on the mirrors … so needed thisReplyGreat how to, your mirror looks great!!ReplyI love how the mirror turned out. And your tutorial is so detailed so we can get the same look. Great job.ReplyI love this! For starters, your mirror is gorgeous. Secondly, I’ve never even though of antiquing my own mirror. That is brilliant. Thanks so much for sharing your tutorial (and tips and tricks) with us at Merry Monday this week!ReplyGreat tutorial!Do you know what this style mirror is called? I picture it being attached to an old fireplace mantel or vanity. It’s absolutely gorgeous.ReplyHi there, I just attempted to do this with an old mirror handed down to me by a neighbor, but after several lengthy attempts we were unable to get the painted backing off of the mirror (and we tried two different kids of stripper, including the “old” kind that isn’t available any longer). We tried for several hours; nothing budged. The back looks as new as it did before we started. Do you have any idea how to tell if the back of the mirror you’re working with can be removed or not? It looked just like every other mirror back I’ve seen on your blog and in videos about this process. Any tips for finding one that works?ReplyWhere do you find mirrors that are not made in China? I’m having a hard time finding any. thank you!Reply

 Skip to contentI am obsessed with mirrors especially antiqued mirrors. I love adding a mirror to every room and one that looks antique just adds so much character to it.I’ve made many antique mirrors and some have turned out awful and some are perfection! I know all the tricks of how to avoid making an awful antique mirror and wanted to share my knowledge with you so you can avoid my past mistakes. Here is my Ultimate Guide on DIY antique mirrors.When antiquing a mirror, it can be really difficult to get right. If you’ve taken too much of the reflective background off you are left with...

The Ultimate Guide on DIY Antique Mirrors + Video

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