Finding mirrors

[Joe Hillmann]

I had a customer bring in a mirror to engrave on and it has a primer red backing on it and it is the easiest to engrave mirror I have ever came across. Usually the mirrors I do have a dark gray backing on them and take much more power to get through. Does anyone know if it is possible to find modern mirrors with the red backing?

[Frank Corker]

Sometimes it's just pot luck when you buy the mirror already framed. You just need to avoid using mirrors that are made for use in a bathroom, the coating that they have on the back of those is an absolute nightmare to engrave through. The cheaper mirrors generally just have a very thin background on them, such as the one that you described. An easy way of checking the quality of a mirror is gently pressing it, thin ones flex quite easily, those in my experience are the cheaper mirror on cheaper glass and that's a pretty good sign.

[Dan Hintz]

As Frank says, the cheaper the better (at least for us).

[Steven Cox]

I do a lot of engraved mirrors but tend to buy ones already cut. I have a wholesaler here in Australia where I buy round, square and heart shaped mirrors from and can get them in sizes of 200mm, 300mm and upto 500mm sometimes. I know they come from China so you should be able to source from anywhere. The wholesalers specalize in wedding supplies and the mirrors are used (by them) as table centre pieces. They work out pretty cheap when you buy 100 or more. So if you google Mirror Center Pieces you should get some results.

Another source is $2 shops they sometimes have slightly thicker small mirrors 120mm with beveled edges in round and square, I ussually take what ever they have on the shelf like 30+ and when I get to the checkout ask to see the manager and get a better price. My local store gives me 30% off when I buy 30 or more so that works out to $1.70 each.

Something to be aware of although bathroom mirrors require more power to engrave they are better, be it more expensive. The cheaper mirrors if they get wet can get water/condensation between the glass and the coating and if that happens after engraving they are stuffed. When they dry out the water stains the coating black much the same as old mirrors get over time.

Hope this helps.

[Mark Ross]

Walmart fall apart for cheap mirrors. We use clear acrylic spray after etching if moisture is a concern.