Mirror adhesive OK?

I wouldn't glue something of this size and weight onto a lath and plaster wall, it needs screws. Why not affix two battens perpendicular to the studding and screw the mirror onto that?

The weight of your mirror is much lighter than wall tiles covering the same area. The important issue here is to have plenty of coverage over the whole area. I would agree that in an ideal situation you would sink some battons into the wall to have a firm fixing, but understand that this might not be easy, or desirable in your situation. I have stuck mirrors with tile adhesive, no nails, mirror adhesive in the past, all with success. Though in all cases the wall needs to be straight across the whole length to be fixed. My preferred route, however, is to drill holes in the corners and fix mechanically to the wall. Glass companies will drill mirrors so long as they are not made out of safety glass. Calum Sabey (Newark Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)

Use the special mirror glue. It works a treat, and fer chrissakes get HER to check it before it sets..You have maybe 1/2 hour during which it needs supporting* before its stuck like s*it to a shovel.

• e.g. screw a batten to the wall underneath, leave it 24 hrs, then remove and make good holes.

Nah. Glue works fine. I put up a 3x3 and had trouble getting it off after half an hour. when SHE said it was too high. Never marry a dwarf. As it were.;-)

Proper mirror glue is better than the dogs bollocks, mind you I didnt try licking it... .

I'd rather trust 28 square feet of glue than 4 soft steel screws, any day.

Especially if its plasterboard behind.

Is this one of those sliding wall to floor doors? I have a couple which will soon be removed, but thought (hoped!) they were toughened glass and therefore wouldn't be cuttable, or even drillable ...

Oh s*it...

But actually, one of the 2 doors is cracked through from top to bottom courtesy of visting nephews playing hide-and-seek (bless!) so I might be in luck. Doors are very old (and do have this film reinforcement on the back), so maybe predate some regulation or other?

David

Mine are about 15 years and I think were made (or at least re-badged) by Stanley, they have a greenish colour backing film, and on closer inspection a sticker that says "ACMETRACK please do not remove" is that similar to yours?

Do report back on any successful (or failed) attempt at cutting them :-)

No my film is transparent; no labels.

Separate but related query: this mirror is in effect going to fit within an alcove-type space where it is constrained on three out of four sides. So it needs accurate cutting.

Difficulty is that of course none of the walls are true, so ideally I'd prepare a paper template before attacking the mirror, but I'm all out of sheets of paper 7'x3'. Any alternatives to sellotaping together an entire edition of The Times?!

David

odd rolls of wallpaper kicking around? friendly with any architects (who have a DesignJet or similar printer)?

Yes, the stuff cuts fine using score'n snap; it's obviously just ordinary glass. (You then run down a Stanley knife down the back to cut the reinforcing film, like cutting plasterboard).

Well The Time did it's stuff: I Blu-tac'ed about 15 sheets to the wall individually, ran parcel tape down all the joins, then peeled the composite off the wall, pulling it away from the Blu-tac.

Next follow-up question!

How does a DIY'er achieve the ground edges to a glass pane that you get on commercially-supplied mirrors? Grinding wheel in an angle grinder ?

David

excellent news, thanks

I've been doing enough of that lately, reminds me to buy *more* Stanley blades ...

Shudder indeed, my thought was a carborundum stone applied by hand, google seems to show that is what amateur telescope makers use on their mirrors/lenses.

Cheap Chinese whetstone, one of those brick-shaped ones, water, and patience.

Wet'n'dry would also work in a pinch.

Thomas Prufer

of PAR (Polished All Round) I wanted, they do indeed make it with a carborundum stone, by hand.

I'd probably try a selection of coarse abrasives/carbide sanding plates in a 1/3 sheet orbital sander or maybe a tungsten carbide sanding plate in a Fein Multimaster. As it involves applying pressure on the edge of the glass then whatever method you use I'd get some kevlar protection sleeves for your wrists and forearms, a slip could be fatal.

|On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:08:40 GMT, Lobster |wrote: | |>How does a DIY'er achieve the ground edges to a glass pane that you get |>on commercially-supplied mirrors? Grinding wheel in an angle grinder |> ? | |Cheap Chinese whetstone, one of those brick-shaped ones, water, and patience. | |Wet'n'dry would also work in a pinch.

Yes a carbourundum stone IME takes the sharp edges off glass and makes it safe(er) to handle, leaving a rough surface. Wet'n'dry works less well, a diamond knife sharpener would also work. Non of these will produce the polished finish you find on commercial mirrors. To get the polished finish, you would need to follow this up with several grades of polishing compound, each finer than the last, which is probably not practical in a DIY environment.

I have a cheap whetstone, about 5"x2", that I use for glass edges. The coarse side will leave a rough edge, even ragged if I get impatient and press too much. It's good for knocking back a point when the score-and-snap's run out, though. Press too hard, and the edge chips in many tiny scallops.

The fine side will leave a much finer surface, if used gently. It'll be like the ground glass in a glass stopper, a milky opaque. I wouldn't call it a polished finish, but with patience, getting a smooth, rounded, milky edge on glass is possible.

It might be possible to get a finer finish use wet'n'dry, but I'd be well out of patience long before it becomes an issue on a piece of glass that size. It's easier to scratch the surface with something soft and floppy than with a solid stone, too.

Thomas Prufer

Its important that your template remain xompletely flat, otherwise the dimensions will be out. Therefore the Times isnt any good. I dont think wallpaper would be at that size either. Cardboard would work if you could get a flat piece big enough, but thats unlikely. I'd look at ultrathin mdf or ply for a template.

NT

Not sure about the most practical DIY approach....

In stained glass we use high-speed coarse diamond grinding 'drums' (from 1/4" to about 1.5" diameter - mounted vertically in a work table which allows water to cool the grinding head. Looks like

This works well for fine adjustments to the shape of a piece of glass. A bullnose edge on the glass can be produced using a 'windglass-shaped' grinding drum (think router).

Generally, the endge of the glass is covered by lead or copper foil - so it is only shaped, rather than polished.....

To smooth & polish a straight edge, like a piece of glass shelving, some kind of wet-belt sander could be used, with progressively finer abrasive - but diamond belts don't come cheap....

The other thing to watch out for is that mirrors are notorious for damage to the silvering during grinding - caused by overheating or just lack of finesse ! The silvering can chip off, or (worse) become weakened, so that, over time, the mirror suffers from creeping 'black-edge' - which looks awful....

Hate to say it - but this might just be one of those jobs where your friendly local glass supply shop can do a better job - and probably much cheaper than you could buy the tools and abrasives for a one-off...

Hope this helps Adrian