I have a big wall mirror, I would like to put on a plain wood border.

Only thing I can think of is to remove the appliqués if possible and either reposition them or use something new after you put your border on it. If you can’t remove the appliques and really want the wood border you may Consider cutting the border in a shape that allows the appliqué s to remain exposed. That would leave your corners raw so to speak. Not sure if you can picture what I mean, wish I could draw you a diagram. Anyhow you could also cut the mirror to a smaller size. Hope this helps, good luck.

In other words, you want a plain frame ? I would not attempt to remove the appliques , if they are carved on they wont come off nicely , if they are glued on ......unless you want to soak your frame for weeks in water ( which could warp the base ) then I do not think this is doable. Why not just mount your fancy frame on a larger plain frame or barring that just buy a new plain frame for your mirror . You can sell the appliqued frame to offset the cost of a new plain frame.

It's not the applique that's preventing the miiror from layng flat. The frame is probably warped.

I get it! you want to put plain wood over the existing frame and the applique is raised! Best way wood be to either sand the applique down level with the frame or carefully carve it out with an Exacto knife or razor knife.

Hi, Lois47,

Why don't you paint the whole frame and distress it? It seems to me you may have an awesome opportunity to get a new look out of your frame without having to remove the appliques! I understand what you are saying about it apparently "sticking up" in those areas, however, if you sand it all over just a bit, paint it with an off-white tone and then distress it, you may just achieve an "old" look that will make it come back to life and even take advantage of the shapes it is now taking. Since your frame is already a dark color, it would be quite easy for you to do that and you may just fall in love with it all over again! I see it and I can just imagine how wonderful it will be!!!

You just need a few items and you have a couple of options on how to do it!

Let me know if it appeals to you and I will tell you how to do it.

Have a nice day!

It would be easier for you to just replace with a plain frame.

Other than metal you should be able to sand it off. For any kind of plastic use a coarser sandpaper. A fine sand paper will clog up very fast. Do the same if it's plaster. You can wrap a stiff sponge with the sandpaper to get into the crevices and contours.

Paint it your favorite color!! It will give it a different look. And make the raised parts look completely different. I would sand off the varnish then just paint away!