Does your home or apartment still have builder grade mirrors in your bathroom? Looking to add a little personality and interest to them without spending a fortune on a new mirror? This quick and easy mirror upgrade can be done in a day (plus a little drying time) and anyone can do it with a few simple tools and supplies.
Materials:
- 42″ x 22″ Plain Mirror (avoid beveled edges)
- (2) 1″ x 3″ x 8′ Poplar Boards
- (4) 3″ Corner Bracers
- Casey Super Blue Liquid Gun Blue
- 000 Steel Wool Pad
- Q-Tips
- (3) Small Foam Brushes
- Rags
- Wood Glue
- Painter’s Tape
- Rust-Oleum Spray Lacquer
- Minwax Coffee Gel Stain
- Super 77 Spray Adhesive
- Kraft Paper (26″ or wider)
- Dust Cover Trimmer or Utility Knife
- 1/2″ Self Stick Bumpers
- (2) Heavy Duty Large D-Ring Picture Hangers
Tools:
- Table Saw
- Sander
- Router (Optional)
- Miter Saw (Optional)
- 4 Way Corner Clamp
- Protective Gloves
- All applicable safety equipment per manufacturer recommendations
Let’s Get Building!
Start by taking your boards and cutting (2) 46″ and (2) 26″ pieces. Once you have those pieces, cut a 1/4″ deep and 1/2″ wide rabbet into the length of each board. This will be what holds the mirror in place in the frame. Make sure to measure the thickness of your mirror before adding the rabbet as you want to have at least the thickness of your mirror plus 1/8″ for the nails that will secure the mirror at the end.
The easiest way to make the rabbet cut is to use a router with a 1/2″ rabbet bit but you can easily do this on a table saw if you don’t have a router. Simply adjust your table saw to the depth that you want and run the board through the saw in small width increments until you have 1/2″ width. This is a little more time consuming but it gets the job done.
Once all the rabbets have been cut you want to add the 45° cut into the corners, with the rabbit facing in. For this size mirror you want to cut down your boards to be 45 9/16″ and 25 5/8″ on the longest side (opposite of the rabbit). For this step it is really important to make sure to measure very accurately. You want the top of the inside rabbet joint to be the same measurement as the mirror’s side plus 1/8″. This will allow the wood a little room to expand and contract without risking the mirror being damaged and keeps the mirror secure. I would highly recommend if you are unsure about this step to cut the wood on the longer side and slowly cut it down until it is the right size.
The exciting part of this step is this is by far the most difficult part of the whole project. So now you want to test the mirror in the frame to make sure the inset fits the mirror correctly and all your angles line up. Once this has been confirmed, you can now glue the boards together.
To glue the boards together I like lying down a piece of scrap plywood to keep my workbench clean. Then I take a brush (I like foam the best) and apply glue to the corners of both boards. I then tape the boards together with painter’s tape to keep them secure. Repeat this for all 4 sides.
To make sure the corners are firmly in place, I add a 4 way corner clamp to the whole frame and tighten. You can use regular clamps but it won’t be as effective as a 4 way corner clamp because the pressure could cause the corner’s to slide if unevenly applied. If you are planning on doing any projects with 4 corners (such as mirrors, boxes, or picture frames), I would highly recommend investing in this kind of clamp. They are inexpensive and very handy in the workshop.
While your frame is drying, it’s time to take your shiny corner braces and add a little aged industrial feel to them. If you like the braces as they are, feel free to skip this step. I personally love the look of aged metal.
The first thing you will need is a small bottle of Super Blue. For this step make sure to read the instruction on the bottle on how to use this product and wear any needed protective equipment.
Now you want to take your bracers and make sure they are clean. Take a small amount of super blue and brush onto the bracers (I found in the small indents in the bracers and the screw holes that Q-tips worked really well to apply the super blue). Wipe clean, rinse with cold water, then dry the bracers. Lightly scrub bracers with steel wool to give it a more aged, scuffed look and polish with rag. You can repeat this process until the bracers look how you want them, I only did the process once and liked how they looked.
Make sure to repeat the process with the screws to match.
Once the glue on your frame is dry, sand the frame with any 100 to 180 grit sandpaper. Once it is sanded to your liking, it’s time to start staining! For this project I have chosen Minwax Coffee Gel Stain because I love the way the stain looks with the metal bracers.
Make sure to apply the stain evenly and let it sit for the same amount of time for the whole frame or you will get some uneven coloring. It is also very important to stain the rabbet portion of the frame. Once the mirror is inserted into the frame, it will reflect a small portion of the inset and you don’t want it showing unfinished wood.
Once the stain is dry, apply a few lights coat of Rust-Oleum Spray Lacquer. I love this product because it’s easy to apply and dries quickly.
Now that your frame has fully dried, it’s time to add the mirror and secure it to the frame. Make sure to fully clean your mirror before you secure it to the frame.
For securing the frame I used 1″ standard nails, hammering them in 1/2″. I had these nails on hand from other projects but in retrospect if I were to do this project over I would have gotten 1″ nails that had a smaller head. This would have helped speed up the process because the heads would have a smaller chance to scuff up the mirror.
To add the nails I used a wood shim to lay down on the mirror and hammered the nail in. This helps protect the mirror from any damage if the hammer slips and helps make the nail go in at the right angle. Once the nail is in half way, I lightly hammer the head of the nail down to make sure it is secure against the mirror. Now, make sure to be careful not to damage the mirror, this step is a little time consuming but it will make sure that mirror is not going anywhere.
I added a nail about every 6-8 inches and made sure the corners had nail about 1.5-2″ out.
Once the mirror is secured, simply add the brackets to the corners and secure with the nails.
Almost done! Now, this step is optional but I like my projects to have a finished look all the way around. On the back of mirror I like to add a dust cover just like you would for a picture frame. For this simple evenly spray Super 77 Adhesive to back of the frame and lay the Kraft paper on top.
Make sure to apply pressure all the way around the frame to get the paper really secure and trim any excess.
Now add the D-Ring Hangers to the back of the frame. Just make sure to get them lined up evenly on each side of your going to have to work a little harder to hang it later on.
Add a bumper on the bottom corners of the frame so it will sit evenly on the wall.
All Done! The back of your frame should look like this. You are now ready to hang your mirror.
For only a couple of hours of active woodworking and a few dollars, you have now upgraded your plain mirror into something special that will transform any bathroom.
Disclaimer: Please make sure with all your projects that you have read your equipment’s safety manual and are following the recommended safety precautions. We are not responsible for the results of your DIY projects as results can vary based on your skill level, quality of materials, and age of your equipment.
