Mirror glass removal?

[Longgone]

I have a good sideview mirror but it has bad glass in it. I have another that has good glass but the frame is bad. This a typical non-remote mirror from a 68 Dart. I`d like to swap mirror glasses, how can I remove the glass without breaking it? I thought of putting it in the oven and heat it to about 250* and see if the glue gives way.???? Any ideas?

 

[George R]

When we restored the old Vette mirrors, we would soak the mirror in lacquer thinner to remove the adhesive holding the glass. It wouldn't hurt the chrome. Once the glass was out, the mirror was rechromed/restored, then the glass could be reinstalled. The lacquer thinner wouldn't damage the silver on the back of the glass either.
Give it a shot Mike, might work well for you.

George

 

[OneOfMany]

Great response.. will file that one away

Grant

 

[George R]

Thanks........and I fixed the typo.

George

 

[Longgone]

Thanks........and I fixed the typo.

George

Thank you George, I`ll give it a go.

 

[memike]

So I can take the glass out of this old mirror by soaking it in thinner and send it to be re cromed ??
I would like to have this as a passenger side mirror.

 

[Longgone]

Mike that mirror looks like it went down with the Titanic!

 

[ramcharger]

Mike, you might want to send that pic to the Chromer before you spend good money. Maybe they can strip it, send it back to you so you could smooth it out?

BTW, I thought you were on the wagon? How many beers are in that pic? lol! Just kidding with you, bro.

 

[70Duster440]

I've also removed glass by warming it with a propane torch just enough to soften the adhesive (4 spots on the back side).

As far as replating that mirror, ouch! They're made out of potmetal and the chrome has bubble because of impurities in the metal which translates to pits that have to be drilled out and filled. If you find someone willing to do it you'll pay a handsome price.

 

[memike]

Mike, you might want to send that pic to the Chromer before you spend good money. Maybe they can strip it, send it back to you so you could smooth it out?

BTW, I thought you were on the wagon? How many beers are in that pic? lol! Just kidding with you, bro.

That picture was taken on the weekend Treva and I went to Petit Jean Mt. 2 dollors on the mirror.
I did fall off the wagon ,
But like oldvart said it was ok it was not far:cheers:

 

[RedFish]

So I can take the glass out of this old mirror by soaking it in thinner and send it to be re cromed ??
I would like to have this as a passenger side mirror.

Might be the worst pitting I've seen. Must have been a bad battery riding out ahead of that one. Anyway...
If you really want to try and save that mirror you may as well start hand sanding on it. Hopefully it will sand smooth without loosing detail. Atleast there's not a lot of fine detail to loose. Good luck