How to restore a mirror

Over time, many objects break or lose their attractive appearance, a mirror is no exception. Unfortunately, the broken product can only be disposed of. If minor damage appears on the surface, try to repair it at home.

Advantages of do-it-yourself mirror restoration

Sometimes, due to insufficient air circulation or exposure to other unfavorable factors, the reflective layer begins to come off, and the mirror ceases to perform its main function. Also, small scratches and chips may appear on the surface, but do not rush and purchase a new product. Given the desire and time, any home craftsman can carry out the restoration himself, extending the life of his favorite mirror. Self-repair allows you to significantly save on the purchase of a new product and has a number of other advantages:

• restoration in a specialized company can be expensive, because it is a labor-intensive and responsible process;
• Not every city has a person who professionally restores reflective surfaces;
• it will take a lot of time to find a restorer, deliver the item to him and back;
• During transportation there is a serious risk that the glass will break.

IMPORTANT! Do not use substances that can threaten human life and health, such as mercury! At home, it is permissible to use only safe means at hand.

Let us once again draw attention to the fact that you can repair minor damage yourself, but entrust major repairs to professionals. We’ll talk more about how to improve a reflective surface with your own hands below.

How to restore a mirror yourself

Experts note that any mirror must be carefully looked after, then its restoration will not be a problem for you. In a high-humidity room like a bathroom, you should purchase special reflective glass designed for use in such conditions so that it does not become stained over time. You can make amalgam more wear-resistant yourself using folk recipes. To do this, it is treated with melted wax and turpentine in a ratio of 1:2. In addition, you need to properly clean the mirror surface so that it does not lose its attractive appearance:

• remove dust with a soft, dry cloth;
• Having gotten rid of dust, the mirror is treated with a special glass cleaner;
• At the end, the product is polished with newspapers, removing stains.

If, despite observing all the conditions, small defects still appear, try to eliminate them using available means. The choice of materials and working methods will depend on the specific situation - large areas are restored with foil and glue, and for small scratches, silicone sealant is used. To carry out the procedure, you should prepare a workplace and the necessary tools in advance.

Required materials and tools

To carry out repairs you may need:

• special glue designed for glass and metal;
• brush with stiff bristles;
• foam sponge;
• soft napkins or cloth;
• glass cleaner;
• composition for degreasing surfaces (gasoline or alcohol-containing product);
• foil;
• scissors;
• brush;
• silicone sealant.

REFERENCE! Small restorations can be easily done at home. Even if it is not possible to completely eliminate minor damage, they will at least become less noticeable.

Instructions for mirror restoration

When the workplace and all the necessary materials are ready, begin the repair. If there is visible damage to the amalgam, first you need to carefully remove the product from the frame and place it on a table, which is best covered with a soft cloth. Next, you should adhere to a certain algorithm of actions:

• clean the damaged area with a brush with stiff bristles;
• Next, you need to wash the mirror with glass cleaner and dry everything;
• degrease the surface with an alcohol-containing product and wipe everything thoroughly, let the product dry again;
• cut out a piece of foil of the required size with scissors (it should be slightly larger than the damaged area);
• we apply special glue, apply the cut-out foil to the mirror with the glossy side down and press it properly (some craftsmen use transparent tape instead of glue);
• carefully level the foil with a clean, dry cloth or napkins and wipe off excess glue;
• When the glue has completely dried after a few hours, the restored mirror can be inserted into the frame.

ATTENTION! If the described method does not help remove visible defects, this may mean that the damaged area is too large. In this case, it is unlikely that anything will be fixed.

If desired, the gluing area can be coated with a thin layer of colorless varnish for greater reliability, but this is not necessary.

How to restore a mirror if there are scratches and chips

A sealant is used to repair small scratches and chips on fragile amalgam. To do this, we also first clean and degrease the damaged area, wipe it dry with soft napkins. Next, carefully fill the existing cracks with silicone; for convenience, you can use simple toothpicks. Then let the product dry well and remove all excess.

Decorating the frame

If the mirror itself is fine, but its frame has lost its attractive appearance, try yourself as a designer. The following will help you decorate the frame in an original way:

• various pebbles;
• shells;
• old jewelry.

The choice of materials will depend on your capabilities, imagination and style of the interior as a whole (the updated product should fit harmoniously into the overall picture).

Thus, restoring mirrors is a rather painstaking task, but the efforts made will still pay off, since you can extend the life of the damaged product. This is especially valuable if the item is old and dear, like a memory. It must be remembered that some cases may be too serious, then, unfortunately, it will not be possible to solve the problem on your own.