For the past year or so I haven’t been able to get enough of old, antique, aged mirrors and the many different applications of them. They have a very old-world, European feel to them that brings the perfect balance of beauty and glamour + imperfection that tells us it has been around for centuries. I am always drawn to the juxtaposition of elements in a space, so this combination really speaks to me. You can find this effect on true old mirrors — but you can also recreate the look fairly closely on new mirrors. I was interested in creating a large mirror that would act as a “panel” in which other furnishings could be layered in front of it. I think this look is so interesting and thoughtful. And because the mirror is imperfect and not meant to perfectly reflect it’s surroundings or act as the main focal point, it’s the perfect backdrop for layering furniture or artwork.
Now, I’m not usually big on “faux” finishes (think: peel and stick subway tile, faux paint effects…), but I had seen this done enough that I wanted to try my hand at it rather than dishing out the cash to buy a large antiqued mirror. Once I started trying to find a good mirror stripper or resources for how to do this yourself there wasn’t a whole lot out there. I’m going to try and share as much of my process, what I learned & mistakes I made for any of you who are interested in trying this out yourself!
There are two ways you can go about creating an aged mirror. One: buy new glass squares, apply Krylon Looking Glass spray paint to one side, use bleach or vinegar to age the silver, then coat with gray or black paint. This is a great option if you found an old picture frame with existing glass you want to turn into a mirror, or are working on a smaller scale. Or, you can buy new mirrors, strip the paint/film off the back, then use bleach to age the silver on the mirror. I decided to go the mirror stripping route because for this project it was cheaper and I could easily order different sizes of mirrors from stores like Amazon or Walmart. The mirror we made is about 3′ x 6′, so I will include instructions for this size. You can easily make a mirror to your exact needs by adjusting the individual mirror size or how many 12″ mirrors you use. Let’s jump in!
what you’ll need
- 18, 12″ mirrors (non-beveled edge)
- Multi-strip Advance
- Plastic putty knife
- Bleach
- Spray bottle
- Sponge
- 4′ x 8′ 3/4″ sheet of plywood
- Gorilla Glue
- Black or dark gray spray paint
- Galvanized steel pieces (this is what we used for the frame/to finish the edges)
getting started
Just a heads up: this is the worst part of this project. Be prepared to be patient and for a mess. To get to the silver on the mirror you first need to remove the paint coating on the back of each panel. I laid all of mine out on tables in my garage lined with paper and plastic. I really liked how this stripper worked – but it stinks, so use it in a well ventilated area. You will want to use a generous coating of the stripper on the first pass, and allow it to work for a few hours. After a few hours, you’ll see the paint start to bubble up; take your plastic putter knife to test a spot and see how easily the backing comes up. If it is not coming up easily, give it more time or apply more stripper. Tip: scraping too vigorously when removing the backing will scratch the glass and that will come through on the finished mirrors, making them look hazy and damaged. I learned this the hard way. You need to get most of the backing off but not all of it — so if there are stubborn spots, leave them be and move onto the next mirror.
how to “age” new mirrors
Once all of the mirrors are stripped, it’s time to start the aging process. You’ll first clean all of the stripped mirrors with water. Next, grab your bleach, spray bottle and sponge. Authentic vintage mirrors that have developed patina with age have a specific trend in which they corrode. Oxidation of the silver on vintage mirrors is what gives them their patina, so most of the time the aging starts on the outside or exposed edges of the mirror with occasional spotting towards the center. You’ll see in the video below how I worked on each mirror and how I achieved the aged look I was going for:
You can see on my finished mirror the heavier distressing at the corners & light spotting in the middle once I applied paint to the back of the mirrors. My favorite distressing was using just a light splash of bleach — if I had to do it over, I might only do that on each mirror with less distressing at the corners.
assembling the mirror
After the bleaching process and your mirrors are dry, you will then lay out your mirrors and paint the backs with your choice of black or gray spray paint before assembling the full mirror. For the frame of the mirror we used 3/4″ plywood to keep the frame from warping too much. Once assembled, this is very heavy, so you need to make sure the plywood you use is thick enough to combat the weight of the mirrors.
Before attaching the individual mirrors, paint the back of the plywood the same color as your mirror backs in case any spacing in the mirrors occur once assembled. Next, lay out your mirrors in the pattern you like best before gluing each one down. Work on one mirror at a time, applying glue to the mirror back, pressing firmly & then applying pressure to the mirror surface why the glue cures (we used stacks of books).
We finished the sides of the plywood with galvanized steel pieces that we painted black to create a “frame” on the mirror. Because new mirrors are thin, I wanted to create the illusion that the mirrors are actually thicker than they are by covering the edge of the mirror and plywood with the steel pieces. It keeps the profile minimal while making the whole mirror look more substantial (and high-end) than it is.
I highly recommend jumping on the aged mirror trend. Let me know if you try this out yourself!
