How to cut a mirror

Often people who want to refresh the interior of their home with the help of original cut mirrors ask themselves the question: how to cut a mirror correctly and safely? Of course, you can turn to specialists, but this service is not always and everywhere provided, and transporting such a product causes some problems. Therefore, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the simple rules and requirements for cutting mirrors.

How to cut a mirror yourself

Before you begin the main type of work yourself, you need to carry out a number of preparatory activities. First of all, you need to collect the entire set of necessary tools, as well as prepare the surface of the mirror, thoroughly cleaning it from grease stains, dirt and dust. After drying, inspect the entire surface for possible cracks and scratches. Since a mirror is a fragile and fragile material, cutting requires great care and scrupulousness from the master. For cutting, you will need a table whose area will be larger than the mirror surface itself.

Important! To wash a mirror, it is better to use special-purpose wipes.

Required Tools

Accurate cutting of the canvas requires the use of the following tools:

• glass cutter;
• metal measuring ruler;
• construction tape;
• marker;
• pliers or teeth;
• hammer;
• a piece of soft fabric;
• sandpaper, fine-grained;
• plastic patterns (for figure cutting).

It is important to know! For high-quality cutting of mirrors at home, a diamond glass cutter is well suited.

Safety precautions

Before starting work, you should familiarize yourself with the necessary safety rules, the implementation of which is an important point when working with glass and mirror materials. Precautions include the following:

1. Organizing a safe workplace.
2. Serviceability of tools.
3. Use of personal protective equipment (safety glasses, overalls and gloves).
4. Cut only in the direction opposite to the cutting part.
5. Fix the mirror sheet at an angle of 15°.
6. Collect glass scraps in a container provided for this purpose.
7. If the glass breaks, remove the fragments only separately, piece by piece.
8. After finishing cutting, thoroughly clean the work area and special suit from small particles of glass.

During work it is prohibited:

1. Make sharp and energetic movements.
2. Do not touch the glass cut without gloves.
3. Cut products in places not intended for this purpose.
4. Throw windows down when working at height.

Attention! Those who decide to cut a mirror on their own for the first time should practice on small glass surfaces and only after acquiring the skills can they begin serious work.

Cut a mirror with your own hands: step by step

Compliance with the correct sequence ensures a successful result, so cutting should be done as follows:

1. Place the canvas on a previously prepared place.
2. Place a soft cloth under the glass; it will protect the surface from damage when pressed.
3. For better sliding of the glass cutter, the glass surface must be treated with a soda solution and then with alcohol.
4. Apply markings to the cleaned mirror cloth, the line of which must correspond to the line of movement of the glass cutter with a slight indentation.
5. Then make a cut, and position the glass cutter perpendicularly or at an angle to the surface.
6. The cut must be made in one continuous movement with equally uniform force. Stopping and cutting again may damage the material.
7. After cutting, position the mirror so that it coincides with the edge of the tabletop, and the cut mark extends a couple of millimeters beyond it.
8. Separate the cut part from the main fabric. To do this, you need to lightly press the canvas onto the table and lightly tap the hammer to follow the outline of the cut. Then, with a sharp movement of your hand, break off the cut off part.
9. If necessary, you can use pliers with rubber pads.
10. After finishing, carefully sand the cuts with sandpaper.

The technology of figure cutting using patterns is similar, the only difference is the breaking process. To make it easier, the cut part of the product is removed in separate segments.

To summarize, it is worth noting that cutting a mirror should not pose any particular difficulties. Having the necessary experience and a small number of tools, you can quite successfully complete the work with your own hands.