Letter 18676

Antique mirror solution

We produce mirror furniture. We mix our own silvering solution, and silver the glass. We have been antiquing the mirror using various materials, but haven't had good results. Can anyone suggest a chemical or formula that will allow us to get an antique effect on the silvered glass?

Evin O
- Yogyakarta, Indonesia

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WHAT IS THE METHOD AND MATERIALS YOU NEED TO MAKE A MODERN MIRROR LOOK LIKE AN ANTIQUE VENETIAN MIRROR-I.E. WITH STREAKS, SPATTERS, FOGGING, ETC.-SO THAT IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS AGED NATURALLY OVER TIME.

Lisa G
artist - Houston, Texas

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Brian greenspan of New York promises to antique any mirror you take in - unfortunately, I live in England so this is impossible for me to do!

If anyone has the address of a London antique mirroring outfit I'd like to have it.

I would also be prepared to try antiquing a mirror myself but as all your other letters ask, How do you do it??? What chemicals do you us? I'd love to know!

stella W
interior design - London, England

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The questions that were already posted about redoing old mirrors or finishing regular mirrors while antiquing them are among the same that I have; however, I did not see any answers to the questions that were posted. If anyone can help please do. Thank you.

Ace B
could become a business - Wichita Falls, Texas

Ed. note: Please see the banner ad at the top of this page, Ace.

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To antique a mirror - FIRST be sure you have adequate ventilation AND protective respirator that is rated for more than dust and mist. You need the type that will protect you from chemicals, but not as sophisticated as to protect from light solvents. Use protective gloves [link is to product info at Amazon] and eye protection (goggles [link is to product info at Amazon]) too.

First, remove the "paint" backing that protects the silvering by using an ordinary paint remover such as the stripper commonly used on wood furniture. Then, use NITRIC ACID which will remove the silvering by spattering it on the exposed silvering. This can be accomplished using an old toothbrush, dipping it in the acid solution and then brushing across another object (preferably plastic or glass) to flip small, random droplets onto the surface of the silvering. You can also put the acid exactly where you want it with a toothpick or for larger "damaged" areas, just pour a very small amount onto the place you want to remove the silver. The longer the nitric stays on the surface, the more damage it will do. This stuff is STRONG and works quickly. Dilute it with distilled water until you achieve a strength that works for your purpose. Start weak and work to stronger. Mirrors can't successfully be re-silvered in patches.

Nitric acid is available at laboratory supplies, chemical supply houses. Don't put it in contact with ANY metal.

my full name is GAIL (legally!)
artist - Sedona, Arizona

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Gail, thank you for giving us an answer. I knew there was somebody out there that had to know. I am going to follow your instructions on a project, I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Once again, many thanks,

Belinda Amedee
- Gonzales, Louisiana

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Hello all,

I am a designer and am interested in working with mirrors that have transparent panels in them. Nothing complicated, but I am looking for a way to remove the silver backing from a rectangle in the middle of a mirror to be able to show an image through the middle, from behind. I have seen several suggestions of chemicals, such as nitric acid, however I assume that these chemicals are hard to mask off. Can anyone advise me of a suitable way to do this, or of a premixed solution made for the purpose that I may be able to get my hands on?

Many thanks.

Tobias
designer - Edinburgh, U.K .

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To expose a window in the middle of mirror , you can set a border using masking tape , strip the paint backing with paint remover that only contains waxy suspension of Halogenated Alkyl ( in some case Methyl Chloride or else ), after paint totally removed , clean the waxy leftover , and with the tape border still attached , just remove the silvering using a metal polishing PASTE product like Autosol Metal Polish [link is to product info at Eastwood] and brass cleaner like Brasso [link is to product info at Amazon] or silver polishing paste. To achieve antique effect , the main principles is to expose the silvering layer from behind, and use vary chemical to achieve different effect. To get "sepia" color , use diluted Black and white Photochemical for B/W pictures, that is compatible with silver system. Because Black and white sepia photos pigmentation mostly based on Organic Silver Complex. To make brown , use Sulphur salt (Sodium Thiosulphate , Dithiosulphate and combined with perchlorates ).

Good luck guys.....

Wen An-Lee
furniture & interior metal crafter - Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

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Not having any success with making sepia or brown tones on mirror. New at this so forgive the dumb questions but: 1) is final "mirror" side the silver-treated side or the plain glass side? 2) Which black and white photo chemical gives sepia tone ?--developer or another one? 3) You have to re-paint the "back" side again, yes? With what? Black acrylic paint? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Jan Holland
- Minneapolis, Minnesota

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I have developed a simple process for producing an "antique" effect using new mirror material. The tarnish/distress effects can be controlled and the look is very realistic. The concentrate will make 2 gallons of solution that can treat up to 300 sq. ft. of mirror surface.

Patent applied for: US # 10711183.

Timothy Poe
Timothy Poe Studio - Birmingham, Alabama

+++++ appended here by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread

DEAR SIR,

I WANT TO MAKE MIRRORS ANTIQUED FROM THE BACK , MIRRORS THAT LOOK OLD WITH SOME ANTIQUE STAINS , WHAT ARE THE MATERIAL OR PRODUCT USED TO DO THESE MIRRORS AND HOW TO DO THEM.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

MAY KAZMA
INTERIOR ARCHITECT - TOURISM AREA, ABU DHABI, U.A.E.

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Dear sir

Thanks for information and I know to silver colour antique mirror making but I want to different color making. like that brown . yes u tell to brown is making to used to sulphur salt (sodium thiosulphate,dithiosulphate and combined with perchlorates)but how can i can make?
what is the mixing another acid please tell me the details
ok thanks for information

Abul Rasheed Noushad
- Kuwait

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All you need is Goof Off [link is to product info at Amazon] and Steel Wool [link is to product info at Rockler] (a fine grade)

Emily Banks
- Sandy, Utah

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What effect does the goof off and steel wool achieve??
Is it comparable to the above options??

Lisa Naro
- Marlton, New Jersey

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I understand that antiquing mirror is quite easy. Just strip the back with a metal stripper, wipe on liquid Draino or splatter. Dry and Paint to seal. Has anyone used this technique?

Hillary Hamilton
- Texas

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I hesitate to claim that something is easy until I've done it, Hillary :-)

Please get back to us after you've done it! :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

January 7, 2008

I have stripped the back off a mirror and I want to create a fog or slight gray effect when viewed from the front side.

Charlie Taylor
shop - Dallas, Texas

February 20, 2008

I am trying to tarnish the silver on a mirror without removing the silver from the glass. Any way to do this?

Christopher Carnino
vintage store - Los Angeles, California

July 22, 2008

This is a simple one for antiquing any silver surface. For a mirror you would want to either selectively strip off the protective layer or remove it completely. You could use paint thinner or anything else you like that removes paint.

Once you get the silver exposed the way you like simply apply straight bleach. It "blackens" silver almost immediately. It won't give you a solid black but will give a dark smoky gray or charcoal color. It can eat through the silver all the way to the glass so experiment on a scrap mirror first.

To stop the tarnishing reaction just rinse it off with plain water.

No dangerous chemicals beyond normal laundry bleach and safe easy cleanup.

Be careful of your clothing/jewelry and work in a well ventilated area!

Jason Barnhart
- San Francisco, California

July 25, 2008

Thank you to Jason Barnhart and GAIL for the techniques to antique mirrors.

I still have two questions:

1) Can you use the nitric acid technique to "cloud" the mirror? I want to create a fog or slight gray effect.

2) Do we have to reseal the back after the antiquing process?

Thanks for the help and information.

Janet

Janet Knapp
- Tampa, Florida

November 18, 2008

I am not familiar with this website. I am just a craftsperson, not a business. How do you find the answers to these questions, regarding aging a mirror? thanks,

Barbara M
- Willits, California

November 19, 2008

Hi, Barbara! This is a thread, an ongoing discussion, containing both questions and answers -- whichever the readers offer. Stella W has told you where to send your mirror for antiquing if you want to go that way. And we've referred you to the banner at the top of the page and a posting from Timothy Poe where you can buy the aging chemistry and instructions if that's the way you want to go.

And Gail from Sedona, Wen An-Lee, Janet B, and Jason B have each told you how they do it.

If this isn't answering your question, please tell us what you want. Thanks.

Regards,

Ted Mooney
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

November 21, 2008

I am in the process of looking to buy an extremely large mirror and I want to age it. I would love to have it take on some oxidized-copper like greens, and get milky and foggy. can anyone give me any advice on how I would be able to achieve this?...I am really just looking to experiment with many different types of "finishes" so any and all advice would be much appreciated.
thanks
Rob

Rob C
Designer - New York, New York

December 1, 2008

I would like to know if a lay person can achieve the look of this mirror -->

I would be the lay person. I really want exactly this mirror (wall divider), but my budget is laughing at the $800 sticker price. As you can see, it's the green/brown sepia foggy tones that an earlier poster inquired about. I don't see that anyone has so far stumbled across this page with help on this type of aging in particular. My brain is cowering at the idea of burning a big acid hole through my arm. My eyeballs can't stop looking at this mirrored divider as the only one in the whole world for me. What to do, what to do.

Sarah Urban
- Houston, Texas

February 20, 2009

I am very struck on antique mirror technique. So, I want to ask some questions:

1)Where can I buy things which are needed to antique the mirror? Can you recommend some web sites, where I can do that?
2)What things or chemical preparations I need to antique a mirror?
3)Maybe, you have some instructions how to do that?

Neringa Vasiliauskaite
stained glass - Lithuania

March 10, 2009

What was Emily in Sandy's procedure on the steel wool and goof off for antiquing a mirror

maryann m
designer - lehi, Utah

March 30, 2009

I have a huge mirror which I have already aged. What do I seal the back with?

Nancy Chesser
- Greenville, Delaware

April 13, 2009

www.hgtv.com/holidays-entertaining/distressing-mirror/index.html is a pretty thorough how-to that I am going to try soon.

Somhairle Wylkenn
- Lynchburg, Virginia

April 17, 2009

hello,

I would like to use the antique method on a mirror, however i would like to make patterns on the mirror with the acid. Is this possible and what is the simplest way to do this? Is it also possible to colour a mirror, such as yellow, orange or even green, but still keep it's reflectiveness? If not, where could i buy one from?

Shelly Kenny
Interior Design Student - Durban, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa opt

April 28, 2009

There is a company called Modello Designs in the U.S. that has a solution (fluids), kits, starter kits for aging mirror surfaces.
However I am not sure whether they will ship outside the U.S. because of several restrictions since 9/11.

Bas Venema
- Groningen / The Netherlands

April 29, 2009

Hi, readers. This website is made possible by supporting advertisers, including Timothy Poe Studio / AMPS Industries -- a supplier of aging solutions for mirrors.

Nothing wrong with going to Modello or other places if they have something that AMPS doesn't offer, or for any other reason. But forums like this one can't exist for you if you give equal weight to the companies which don't support them as to those companies who do :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

October 8, 2009

Dear All,
The antiquing of a new mirror sheet is not an easy task. On behalf of my UK clients I have tried and co-operate with several factories and glass experts. The patina itself is just silver oxidation usually in progress which, means in certain time the reflective silver layer is taken over by the oxidation. According to my experience if you try to apply chemicals, you can achieve certain oxidation , but is difficult to achieve it evenly . Basically after trying variety of methods we had on one part of the mirror big stains � ugly marks on the other side it was nicer (small drops ) To do a nice patina on a mirror we decided to go for specialised glass sheet supplied by Italian and German manufacturers. In following my supplier cuts and silverisies by hand method (still needs quite sophisticated environment and equipment) the sheet . The result is nicely and evenly patinised mirror with stooped and control oxidation. In majority of the cases I would definitely drop the idea of doing it DIY and buy the patinised mirror cut to the order. It is not that expensive . Best regards

Milan STRITESKY
business network - PRAGUE, Czech Republic