[Wulff]

I wanted to experiment with a large FS mirror but didn't want to spend a fortune so I went to the local Wal-Mart and bought a mirror for less than $4.00, I went over to automotive and bought a can of "Aircraft Stripper" and I was ready. (sorry these are so big, I am tired and already sized em!)
Oh, AND WEAR GLOVES, THIS STUFF BURNS YOUR SKIN!!!


Ready to strip the back to make my own FS mirror. (yes, that is a reflection of frilly bra!)


Here is the stripper


Stripper working...


Cleaning off paint/stripper with tap water, rinse with DI water to prevent water spots


Mirror completed, it looks great and ready to install... after cleaning. Remember to clean it carefully
as there is no longer a layer of glass to protect the mirror.
Use the same precautions and cleaning that you would your RPTV mirror.

[wahaca]

Sorry I have a couple of questions. How much did the stripper cost? How long did you let it set? How well does it reflect? Do you think you have any loss in color quality? And I'm confused, if you stripped the back of the mirror, then how did it become a fs mirror without adding anything for the front?

[Lothar]

wahaca, on Jun 12 2007, 06:30 AM, said:

And I'm confused, if you stripped the back of the mirror, then how did it become a fs mirror without adding anything for the front?

It was stripped down to the reflective layer. The new mirror layer is the side that used to be the back.

By the way, nice stripping info.

This post has been edited by Lothar: 12 June 2007 - 11:39 AM

[wahaca]

Lothar, on Jun 12 2007, 04:38 AM, said:

It was stripped down to the reflective layer. The new mirror layer is the side that used to be the back.

By the way, nice stripping info.

ohh ...neat.

[mdmfootball]

so you put this stuff on the back of a normal 2nd surface miror and thaen how long do you let it sit for?

[teamwindsor]

looks like you achieved some really nice results there!
do you plan to use this stripped mirror instead of a FS mirror or is it just a temporary test?
if you have a FS mirror there how does the stripped mirror compare with regards to quality as surely the proper FS mirror would be of a much higher standard than a cheap normal mirror?
am i correct that a FS mirror is sealed so that it is possible to clean without rubing the metal off, and if so the stripped mirror would not have this...then leading to a very delicate surface?

[Wulff]

Thanks for all the replies..
The "Aircraft Remover" (stripper) is about $5.00 USD and is available at Wal Mart and all auto parts stores. I left it set for about 15 minutes and came back and using a paper towel I rubbed the stripper around a little and could see it was starting to come off, so I re-sprayed it and left it for about 15 more minutes and then (using laytex gloves) I rinsed it off with warm water. I could see a few places that was stuborn so I took it back to the garage and srayed stripper on those areas. When I came back about 10 minutes later it was ready to rinse off.
The stripper really burns if it gets on your skin so make sure you wash your hands and arms well... the stuff is pretty enviromentaly friendly though and you can run it down the drain.
You should put newspapers down where you are going to strip as the paint mixed with the stripper comes off in clumps
I did a final rinse using some de-mineralized water and placed it in front of a fan to dry. (make sure you clean the stripper off the back (formerly front) of the mirror as it tends to migrate around there as you are rinsing it!
I am going to use it in my 17" vertical and I will let you guys know how the picture looks. A visual inspection of the mirror shows a very nice flat mirrored surface and since I know of a few builders that has used 'standard' mirrors with some success (but with ghosts or double images due to reflecting off of the glass) I see no reason this won't work as a low-cost alternative.. (it sure looks like one of those expensive jobs! )

The nice thing about it is you can make a very large FS mirror and place it at the best location without trying to use a small expensive FS mirror (to save money) and placing it out near the converging point.
If anyone has any questions I'll try to answer 'em

[Wulff]

teamwindsor, on Jun 12 2007, 06:56 AM, said:

looks like you achieved some really nice results there!
do you plan to use this stripped mirror instead of a FS mirror or is it just a temporary test?
if you have a FS mirror there how does the stripped mirror compare with regards to quality as surely the proper FS mirror would be of a much higher standard than a cheap normal mirror?
am i correct that a FS mirror is sealed so that it is possible to clean without rubing the metal off, and if so the stripped mirror would not have this...then leading to a very delicate surface?

Thanks Lothar...

As I understand it the mirror companies use the same reflective metals on all their mirrors as they are mainly trying to get as natural reflection as possible.
I worried that the flatness of the glass in a cheap mirror might be a problem but it seems not the case.
I found that a lot of FS mirrors are not sealed as they want to have a completly reflective surface so the light isn't passing through and other layers. I was cleaning my rear-projection TV screen mirror and tried to compare them and they looked the same, there wasn't any color variation.. I had my wife and daughter (young eyes! ) to inspect it and they thought it looked just as good as the FS mirror in the TV!
Here is a good write-up on cleaning FS mirrors:
http://www.holograph...leaning_Mirrors

I am going to test several cleaning methods on a 'test' mirror to check how delicate surfaces can be polished and cleaned.. I'll report back here.

This post has been edited by Wulff: 12 June 2007 - 03:01 PM

[teamwindsor]

i had heard about people that had made their own FS mirrors(Elken i think) but didn't know they turned out this well...would save a bit of change anyway!
could i just ask, what is the "aircraft stripper", is it just some kind of acetone or nail polish remover?

[Wulff]

teamwindsor, on Jun 12 2007, 09:20 AM, said:

i had heard about people that had made their own FS mirrors(Elken i think) but didn't know they turned out this well...would save a bit of change anyway!
could i just ask, what is the "aircraft stripper", is it just some kind of acetone or nail polish remover?

'Aircraft Stripper" is simply paint remover, I don't think acetone is strong enough (the main ingredient in nail-polish remover is acetone along with some fragrance).
Tonight I will try using regular paint remover to test it as the 'aircraft remover' might not be available world-wide.. (I always thought that was a stupid name 'aircraft remover' shouldn't it be "aircraft PAINT remover"? )
I think the best paint removers are the ones found in auto parts stores as they have to be strong enough to attack the superman-style finishes on cars these days!

[pagercam]

There are plenty of other types of paint strippers I've had good luck with the orange oil based ones and thier not as dangerous, still dangerous but less so and the orage smell beats the chemicals. Have only used it to strip wood work ussually needs to sit for hours rather than minutes but it seems to do a good job.

[verboten1]

aircraft stripper is safe for aluminum.

hence the reason it is aircraft stripper.

[psron]

I just did this yesterday on a 16"x20" WalMart mirror using the same stripper... WONDERFUL!!!!!!!

Hint - don't skip, or rush the 2nd pass... even if it seems clean the first time, do a second pass to clean any remnants off... it will save you time later. I ended up with a FS mirror that's awesome... only a very few specks of sunlight make it through... looks like better than most commercially graded "94% reflective".

Now... if I can just get this Sony 50" HDTV-RPTV rebuilt... it had a trashed mirror and 50" plastic screen assy, I stripped off all of the upper cabinetry, just the electronics & optics housing remains. I'm going to try either a fabric or dazian rear proj. material at 46" diag.

Original mirror was larger, but I have a longer throw distance available, so I'm hoping the smaller mirror will still work.

[Wulff]

psron, on Jun 16 2007, 10:19 PM, said:

I just did this yesterday on a 16"x20" WalMart mirror using the same stripper... WONDERFUL!!!!!!!

Hint - don't skip, or rush the 2nd pass... even if it seems clean the first time, do a second pass to clean any remnants off... it will save you time later. I ended up with a FS mirror that's awesome... only a very few specks of sunlight make it through... looks like better than most commercially graded "94% reflective".

Now... if I can just get this Sony 50" HDTV-RPTV rebuilt... it had a trashed mirror and 50" plastic screen assy, I stripped off all of the upper cabinetry, just the electronics & optics housing remains. I'm going to try either a fabric or dazian rear proj. material at 46" diag.

Original mirror was larger, but I have a longer throw distance available, so I'm hoping the smaller mirror will still work.

Hey, that is great news!! I agree with your method to not rush the second pass.. like yourself, I too found my homebuilt FS mirror was superior to some commercial FS mirrors!!!!
That is a cool idea with the RPTV. I read on here someone had a trashed RPTV and using a homebuilt PJ placed it in the unit and it was clearer and brighter than it was when it was new!
Will be looking forward to your results using the homemade FS mirror!!!

[Ronin]

thanks for this info, it's when u read posts like these u actually know there's some hope for us stupid human thingys! without us the world would probably be a better place, but it would be completely without DIY FS mirrors, and we cant have that can we!

[Wulff]

Ronin, on Jun 19 2007, 06:19 PM, said:

thanks for this info, it's when u read posts like these u actually know there's some hope for us stupid human thingys! without us the world would probably be a better place, but it would be completely without DIY FS mirrors, and we cant have that can we!

LOL!! So true, my friend!

[brandy66]

Wulff, on Jun 20 2007, 11:12 PM, said:

LOL!! So true, my friend!

HI WULFF Great to see the success you have had with the diy FS mirror
Just got one question? what is the active ingredient in the "Aircraft Stripper" that you use.
I have also tried to do an FS mirror with little luck using common paint stripper (Dichloromethane+Methanol).
this had no effect on the backing! on several different types of mirror.

[Wulff]

Hi Brandy...
I will check and see what is in the stuff as soon as I get home,,
-Wulff

[brandy66]

Wulff, on Jul 3 2007, 07:08 AM, said:

Hi Brandy...
I will check and see what is in the stuff as soon as I get home,,
-Wulff

CHEERS FOR THAT LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY

[simp1yamazn]

question for ya wulff. I tried the aircraft stripper and mirror and it worked pretty well but ran into a snag. the stripper took the backing off pretty well but it needed to be scraped off. did u have to do that as well and if so how did u make sure not to scratch the surface?

[Wulff]

simp1yamazn, on Jul 3 2007, 06:50 PM, said:

question for ya wulff. I tried the aircraft stripper and mirror and it worked pretty well but ran into a snag. the stripper took the backing off pretty well but it needed to be scraped off. did u have to do that as well and if so how did u make sure not to scratch the surface?

I was wearing latex gloves and after I stripped it 2 times there was a few stuborn areas that I rubbed gently with a gloved finger under running (warm) water.
I think a better idea is to keep re-applying, rinsing and drying until it all removed.... it will all come off without rubbing.. a trick you can use that I have used with this stripper is after you lay down a layer of stripper, cover it with plastic (a plastic garbage bag works well) and this lets the chemicals work without drying out.

AAAHHHHH, as I was writing this standing at the kitchen countertop on my laptop and my daughters new kitten just climbed all the way up my leg, up my back to perch her little black body on my shoulder!! crap, that little girl has SHARP claws and is FAST!!!!!

Note to Brandy: I just checked the ingredients on the Aircraft Remover (which incidently says on the back "DO NOT USE ON AIRCRAFT!" ) it contains: Methanol and Methylene Chloride.

Well, I better go play with this kitty before she jumps down on the keyboard!!! and I thought my Ferret was a pest!!!

This post has been edited by Wulff: 04 July 2007 - 05:08 AM

[matzner]

Just stripped my $4 walmart mirror. Don't rub with paper towel, it will actually scratch the substrate. Just let the stuff do its job, rinse, repeat. I am wondering what kind of coating this is. I work at a large plating company and our chrome, or nickel for that matter, isn't this delicate by a long shot. I thought about trying to make a chrome FS mirror, but polishing a piece of metal that well would probably be more trouble that its worth.

[Wulff]

You are right about scratching the surface, I should have mentioned I used a paper towel to move the slimey paint remover around, but you are right..... even if it takes several strip, rinse, dry sessions it is worth it and ALWAYS final rinse with DI water so it can dry spotfree.

This post has been edited by Wulff: 19 July 2007 - 01:11 AM

[fmerrill]

matzner, on Jul 14 2007, 05:29 PM, said:

Just stripped my $4 walmart mirror. Don't rub with paper towel, it will actually scratch the substrate. Just let the stuff do its job, rinse, repeat. I am wondering what kind of coating this is. I work at a large plating company and our chrome, or nickel for that matter, isn't this delicate by a long shot. I thought about trying to make a chrome FS mirror, but polishing a piece of metal that well would probably be more trouble that its worth.

Most mirrors these days are made by an aluminizing process instead of a silvering process, but you can make a mirror yourself by using silver nitrate, distilled water and ammonia, but it's a bit involved.
Amateur telescope makers do it themselves sometimes, as some of them would prefer to make their mirrors completely by themselves. (I never had the dedication!)

This post has been edited by fmerrill: 19 July 2007 - 01:56 AM

[brandy66]

fmerrill, on Jul 19 2007, 02:54 AM, said:

Most mirrors these days are made by an aluminizing process instead of a silvering process, but you can make a mirror yourself by using silver nitrate, distilled water and ammonia, but it's a bit involved.
Amateur telescope makers do it themselves sometimes, as some of them would prefer to make their mirrors completely by themselves. (I never had the dedication!)

IT DOESNT LOOK THAT HARD TO DO BUT AFTER WATCHING "MAKING A GLASS MIRROR" ON YOU TUBE ,
IT LOOKS LIKE THE END RESULT IS NOT AN FS MIRROR WHICH IS WHAT WE REQUIRE, BUT A GOOD RESULT ALL THE SAME.