How to fix an old mirror?

Hi Tamara it really depends on the frame. Old mirrors tend to be very heavy and rather fragile. Most old frames (in my experience) are put together by lots of small finish nails. I would carefully look for them after laying the mirror down on a safe, flat and padded surface. After that its just the careful time consuming job of removing enough of the small, old nails to remove the backing off of the mirror.

You can try Citristrip stripper to remove the paint and silvering. Then use mirror spray.

https://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/mirror/turn-glass-into-mirrors-29461033

https://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/mirror/how-to-make-a-mirror-with-mirror-paint-5719847

You can definitely clean up and remove the old silver backing and then completely re do the back of the mirror. I think the article above on re-silvering will be a big help to you. I've touched up a few when they have faded edges with the spray, never took on a whole mirror project.

It will have to be stripped and re-silvered, here is the process:

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/restore-antique-mirror-glass-40082.html

Here's a link on re-silvering an old mirror. Be sure to do this in a well-ventilated area.

Hi Tamara, hope these help you out,

https://angelgilding.com/re-silvering-old-mirrors/#:~:text=To%20re%2Dsilver%20an%20old%20mirror%20you%20must%20remove%20it,kits%20re%2Dsilver%20the%20glass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPeoUK8de2E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtBtGK9hxdo

here is a post https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/how-to-repair-an-old-mirror/2015/12/22/d10aedea-a35c-11e5-ad3f-991ce3374e23_story.html

Hello Tamara,

You could try using Paint stripper and leave to do work then Paint Scraper gently.

Here's a post that might help - https://homeguides.sfgate.com/restore-antique-mirror-glass-40082.html

What do you mean by respray? Do you want to spray a mirror finish on the old mirror and then re-frame it?

I would use a spray like Rustoleam Mirror Effect

Do you want to have re-silvered? An expensive process or do you want to use a mirror effect spray paint? Silvering to manufacture a new mirror is a a multi step process and not typically a homeowner DIY.

Leave the stripper on the mirror until it bubbles then you can scrape off. The gray/black paint should be easy to remove. May take longer for the silvering. Another option is to replace the mirror with regular glass. Use the mirror spray on the glass then place it in the frame. Check out my previous post.

Actually mirrors have a silver nitrate coating and then are painted to protect the silvering from being damaged. You can strip the back paint off and then would want to desilver the glass. Don’t use a scraper or steel wool it will scratch your glass, the only mirrors that are worth resilvering are the bevel edged ones. If it has a cut edge it’s cheaper to replace. Look at glass companies in your town some offer resilvering, also can buy the items to do it yourself.