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Repairing rear view mirrors

Limey

Donation Time
Hi all,

I am preparing to restore my SII rear view mirror. Does any body have any tips about dismantling and reassembly?

Thanks

Oliver
 

howard

Donation Time
How much are you going to disassemble? If you're going to resilver the mirror, mainly you want to soak the glass/plastic assembly in some kind of solvent. I've used paint thinner... others may have another preference. Let it stay exposed to the solvent overnight, if possible. Then you can get a thin tool, like a knife edge or painter's palette knife, to SLOWLY pry the glass until it comes loose.

I've never taken the plastic housing off my mirror. It looks like it would be somewhat crispy, so I'll not chance it unless I have a spare.

Are you going to rechrome the stem, etc.?
 

Limey

Donation Time
Rear View Mirror Resto

Hi Howard,

Thanks for getting back.

I want to totally dissemble and rebuild it to new including the plastic surround. However it looks like a very delicat operation.

Are you saying that to remove the entire glass, soak in a solvent? Is this because it is glued in? What makes it convex? is it 'bent' across an internal part? I saw a broken one once and I remember that the rivets held a steel strap against the ball of the arm and provided the friction to hold it in place when adjusted by hand.

I have seen traces of the plastic surround. I thought that might be reproduced using a heat shrink product.

Ta,

Oliver
 

howard

Donation Time
I can't speak for every mirror on these cars, but mine has the black plastic enveloping the whole "frame" structure. The mirror is held in with glue... there are no supports of any kind. It's flat in back of the glass.

The glass is molded into a convex shape, and, thankfully, a bit on the thick side so as to not be so fragile when working with prying it out.

Once you've done all your restoration, be picky about what kind of glue you use when replacing the mirror back into the frame. Some of these glues will "eat" the silvering off the mirror in short order!
 
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