Everything to Know about Mirror Making

Even with the evolution of technology, making mirrors requires a tremendous amount of precision, time, and craftsmanship. Mirrors are more than just a panel of glass that reflects. Mirrors need multiple materials to create the beautifully elegant and simplistic design we all know today. The more obvious material used in the process of mirror-making is glass however there is much more. Mirrors utilizes numerous wet metal deposition techniques ranging from copper, lead, tin, silver, and aluminum. Even though mirrors use multiple metals in their production process there are some deemed more important than others. 

The first step to creating the mirror we see today is grabbing a large panel of glass. The panel of glass needs to use a wet deposition of silver to give it the proper reflective appearance. Aluminum can also be used rather than silver however, silver has a better reflective percentage. The silver will not stick to the glass panel on its own therefore, a layer of tin must be sprayed on the glass first. Once sprayed with tin the glass panel is ready to add the layer of silver. To seal the silver backing of the mirror factories typically use two coats of paint. Sometimes copper is added before the two coats of paint to add more protection to the backing. Once the copper and coats of paint are applied the mirror is then heated to dry all the liquids in place. The mirror is then inspected for any defects and shipped off.