Asked on Apr 06, 2016

Can l paint a frame on the edge of a mirror and have it last?

Can do gal
by Can do gal
The silver is coming off the back of my bath mirror around the edges there is no way to get to the back of this mirror to re-silver it. l was thinking of painting a frame on the front of the mirror, wondered if any one had experience with this kind of thing, what they did /used and how it held up? Thank in advance for your help.
  10 answers
  • Nancy J. Hill Nancy J. Hill on Apr 07, 2016
    You may remember (depending on your age) the aluminum foil backed pictures painted on glass. Plus I painted a huge picture window for a beauty shop with plain old acrylic paint. Just tape off the part of the mirror you don't want paint on and paint away. Just make sure when cleaning the mirror in the future to be careful of your painted frame, as it can be scraped off (which you can do also if you get tired of your original design). Just use a single edged razor blade to make corrections after it has dried or to remove it completely if you get tired of it.
  • Bar822173 Bar822173 on Apr 07, 2016
    There is a product called Glassprimer which is paint that is meant to be painted on glass. Have no idea how much it costs or if you can buy it in small quantities. Might want to check it out. Also you might try "tester paint" made for model cars. You can find it in the craft store. It is high gloss. More like nail polish. I think it would stand up to glass cleaner pretty well. Or you could glue molding, mitre cut to resemble a picture frame to conceal the damaged area.
  • Psellers Psellers on Apr 07, 2016
    Mine did the same thing around the edges. My local glass dealer just made a glass frame around the entire glass wall mirror. The glass frame pieces were about a 3" width and he just glued them around not mitered at the corners like a frame but with an official corner glass piece.
  • William William on Apr 07, 2016
    Sounds like moisture got behind the mirror and "attacked" the silvering. Michael's and Hobby Lobby have all kinds of mirror glass pieces in different sizes and shapes. Find what you like and glue them around the edges with a dab of clear silicone caulk.
  • Becky Becky on Apr 07, 2016
    I used glass paint. I found it in Michael's with all the little bottles of craft paint. Its on the bathroom in the kids bathroom. Its held up just fine...them being piglets and all! :)
  • Lori Lori on Apr 07, 2016
    You have lots of great advice to choose from which will look great. You maybe have or have not considered gluing a wooden frame, cut to measure. It would look good and not cost much.
  • Patty Patty on Apr 07, 2016
    Somebody did a post on here once and she bought some individual tile pieces and glued them on her mirror and it looked beautiful, and not expensive at all.
    • Lori Lori on Apr 09, 2016
      That's a great idea too. She could even use the new stick on ones, cut into strips.
  • Can do gal Can do gal on Apr 11, 2016
    thank you all so much for your solutions, sorry its taken me so long to say that ,Ive been away from the computer dealing with my sick Mom. she doing better, thank goodness, but still needs me to be there a lot, so my project has to take a back seat for now. 400 and some e-mail to get though, thanks so much ,hope to be back soon, love the site and appreciate everyone input.
  • Patty Patty on Apr 12, 2016
    Glad your mom is doing better, you just take care of your mom and yourself, everything else can wait. I will say a prayer for your mom.
  • Can do gal Can do gal on Jun 10, 2016
    thanks Patricia for the prayers mom back to her old spunky feisty self we all blessed there. I repaint the whole med cabinet the fresh white paint looks so good y don't even notice the missing silver at the edge, but when i start noticing again I'm going to paint with the glass paint idea, as the beveled glass edge would make a wood frame over my skill level, thanks everyone for the ideas. what a great site :)