Painting a Mirror

by Erin | thethirdwhitehouse

4 Materials

$10

2 Hours

Easy

Hanging mirrors in your home are great ways to brighten up a room. Fortunately, there are tons to be had at resell stores or stores like Home Goods or Target. My favorite place to find vintage mirrors is ReStore- Habitat for Humanity's resale store. They often have racks and racks of old mirrors. Sometimes a little glue and paint can completely change the look!

I found this beauty at my local ReStore.

I loved the details at the top and the shape of it. The little parts at the top had separated and a few pieces had fallen off. I used some wood glue to reattach the separated pieces and I actually used wood filler to make little pieces to replicate the other side!

I lightly sanded the whole mirror and then cleaned it to make sure there was no dust.

Before I primed the mirror, I used old playing cards to protect the mirror from the paint. Gently push the cards between the frame and the mirror all the way around, slightly overlapping each card.

I find this way easier than using painters tape, but that is also an option if you do not have any old cards ;)

Once you have primed and painted your mirror, let it dry according to the paint manufacturer's time frame.

Before you remove the playing cards, score the part next to the mirror to loosen any paint that got onto the cards. This is an important step! If you do not, you will risk peeling away the paint that is on the mirror and you do not want that to happen!

Once you have removed the cards, clean your mirror and get ready to hang it! Beautiful! You have given a new life to an old mirror and now you have a unique piece in your home.