There are a couple different ways to get your hands on an antique mirror. Of course you can find one at an antique store that is already aged. Other ways are to take a mirror and strip the back coating off and age it with some bleach before repainting the back. Or we can turn glass into an antique mirror.
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I have done the method of aging an actual mirror with bleach and spray paint already if you want to read about it. With this method, first you start with a piece of glass. I thrifted this picture frame with the perfect aged gold frame and all I could picture was an antique mirror inside the frame.
Materials For Turning Glass Into An Antique Mirror
Here are the materials you’ll need to turn the glass from a picture frame into its own antique mirror:
- Piece of glass
- black spray paint
- vinegar
- spray bottle
- mirror spray paint
- paper towels
Step 1-Prep Your Work Area And Glass
This is a messy process involving spray paint, so you’ll need to set up a work area in a place with proper ventilation. It can also be stinky, so outside or in a garage is best. Also, protect where you are working on the glass so lay down some kind of drop cloth or something to protect the floor or table.
Once your area is prepped, it’s time to clean your glass. Regular glass cleaner will work fine for this. Make sure the glass is fully dry before moving onto the next step.
Step 2-Spray On The Vinegar
Grab an old spray bottle or a new one, they are pretty cheap. You want one with a mister setting. Spray the distilled vinegar on the glass. Be sure to concentrate the mist around the outer edges as that is where aging would naturally occur on an antique mirror.
Step 3-Time For The Mirror Effect Spray Paint
Next part is to add the mirror effect spray paint. I grabbed this mirror effect one in silver from Rustoleum Amazon. I believe Krylon sells one called Looking Glass, but it was more expensive.
Spray this on immediately after the vinegar onto the glass. Remember, when working with spray paint, spray in long strokes with short bursts. Keep the paint moving so there are no pools or drips.
If you get spray paint on your hands, read how to get spray paint off hands here.
Step 4-Clean Up Some Of The Vinegar
Once you have sprayed on the mirror effect spray paint, and then leave it alone for a few seconds. When the mirror effect is still wet, but not newly wet, take a paper towel and dab at some of the vinegar you sprayed on earlier. This dries super fast, so work quickly.
If the spray paint is too wet, you’ll just remove it and too dry, you’ll just sort of smear it into a yuck spot. The purpose of this is to add more aging in random spots to make it look natural.
Step 5-Paint The Back
Once the front is fully dry and you are happy with the results, flip over the mirror. The mirror effect spray didn’t spray on the parts where there was vinegar was so you have some see through places. The color you paint the back will show through these spots to show “aging.”
I chose black because it mimics real age spots and I had some black spray paint on hand. Let the back fully dry.
Step 6-Return Glass To Frame And Admire Your Handiwork
Other Spray Paint Projects:
Spray Paint Wood Furniture
Spray Paint Door Knobs
How To Get Spray Paint Off Hands
Ok, I’m obsessed! This is way easier to do than the other method (in my opinion) and turned out exactly how I pictured it! I can’t want to get this little beauty hung up somewhere in my house and do this DIY Antiqued Mirror from glass about 1000 more times!
Final Thoughts
This is one of those DIYs where it is hard to mess it up, but if you do NEVER FEAR! Once the spray paint dries, since it is glass, you can take a razor and clean it off to try and make your antique mirror over again. I love how mine turned out on the first try and I kind of just embraced the “imperfections.”
I think I will get better at it the more I practice turning glass into an antique mirror. I hope you found this tutorial helpful! If you try it, tag in on Instagram!
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