DIY Aged Mirror

DIY Aged Mirror

Hey Friends! You may remember this post when I talked about being smitten by antique mirrors. As mentioned, I love to find authentic pieces with this look, but sometimes you have to create that aged appearance you’re going for.  I gathered the inspiration photos for the post mentioned above when I was making design plans for this room below.  You remember the Architectural Dining Room Redo, right?

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I painted this room a dark gray color because I wanted all the architectural details we added to contrast and pop.  The white wainscoting, table top, and multi-light chandelier helped to keep the space from getting too dark, but I wanted to bring even more light into the space.  Adding a large mirror with some extra aged character would definitely bounce more light around and reflect the statement pieces that I had planned for the space.  Here’s the look I went with. . .

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I used  these Lowes Mirror Tiles to create the piece. Of course, they don’t come pre-aged when you buy from the big box stores.  If you’re interested in how to get the antique look, keep reading!  Here are the steps-

Step #1- Buy a heavy duty liquid stripper.  New mirrors have a protective coat of paint over the backside of the mirror. You must remove this layer in order for the aging process to work.

Step #2- Spread a generous amount of the stripper on the back of the mirror and wait.

Step #3- Soon the paint will begin to bubble up and you can remove it with a plastic putty knife.  Do not use a metal putty knife and be careful as you scrape away the paint so you don’t scratch the mirror. You may have to repeat steps 2 & 3 multiple times to remove most of the paint.

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Here’s how the mirrors look with most of the paint removed from the backside…

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Step #4- Once you are able to remove most of the paint, you can start the aging process, which starts with buying some heavy duty oven cleaner.

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Step #5- Spray the cleaner onto the mirror, but be ready.  This stuff works super fast, so you’ll need to wipe the cleaner off pretty quickly.  You may want to practice different spray patterns or spreading the oven cleaner on in different patterns before you try doing your actual project.

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As you can see in the above right pic, once you wipe the oven cleaner off, you will be able to see through the mirror in the spots where the oven cleaner removed the reflective coating.

Step #6- Once you are to this step, you can decide how to finish out the back of the mirror.  You may want to leave it as is and be able to see the wall behind the mirror, choose certain paint colors to achieve different looks, or place a fancy fabric behind so you can see a fun pattern!  I chose a black finish for this project.

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I want to age every mirror I see.  I think the simple and “authentic-ish” 😉 look is perfect for any style and space!  Don’t you!?

‘Til tomorrow!!

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