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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 and eye protection 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

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

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 .

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

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

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 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

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

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  

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

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 it isn't possible for forums like this one to exist for you if you give equal weight to companies which don't support the site as to those who do :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney finishing.com Brick, New Jersey