Q: glass or plastic mirrors on heads?

vas

vas

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finishing (slowly) the rebuilt and I need two mirrors for the heads.
sizes are around 500X800
will be secured on ply bulkheads 12mm thick and "nerved" on either side, so in theory not really flexing much.

Big Q is do I go glass or plastic?
I guess plastic will be cheaper but also scratchable and possibly ugly
Glass is the real thing, but don't want to start trying to remove cracked mirrors.

FWIW, original fittings were glass and more flexy bulkheads and looked very original when I scrapped them (were 35yo then)

Reasons not to go for glass, or to select plastic welcomed.

cheers

V.
 
Most glaziers will will stock mirror glass which they will happily cut to size. We've had circular mirrors made for our heads , held by spring clips. About 50-60 cm diameter, cost about £15-20 with bevelled edges. We also have a slim near full length mirror on one of the cabin doors (SWMBO informs me that this is one of the more essential items of equipment on board, lord knows why....) which is retained by screws through holes drilled in the glass by the glazier. Again, cost about £20. Had them in place for years with no breakages. The only problem to be aware of is the backing will, over time, start to break down from th cut edges: slow down the process by applying clear lacquer to the cut edges and backing.
 
Plastic mirrors are safer, much harder to break, look fine and can easily be cut to any reasonable size by suppliers. Also a doddle to mount: just drill and screw with suitable mirror fasteners. I got one from a local double-glazing company about then years ago. The material was known colloquially as 'prison mirror', for obvious reasons.
 
thanks for the replies.

I obviously didn't make myself v.clear, I do have a glazing co that will either provide/cut/glue plastic or glass mirrors.
They do beveled edges (if I want them to).

Since both mirrors will be edge to edge, I cannot use the old original nicely machined alloy upside down L shaped bits that screw to the bulkhead and support on all sides the glass.
It has to be glued with the special silicone/glue thing that doesn't affect the silver powder or whatever that thing on the back of a glass mirror is...

So, reforming the Q, will a 4 or 5mm (I guess) glass mirror edge to edge survive glued on a 12mm nerved bulkhead?

@duncan: daughter already asked for a full size mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door in her tiny cabin... so yes there's something in the genes there...

@macd: does the plastic mirror look plastic and sort of dull? Do you find it scratches easily/at all?

cheers

V.
 
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We bought a plastic full length one for the forward cabin. Excellent quality, not cheap though, and if you did not know it would be hard to tell the difference between it and a glass one. Still looked as good after 4 years.
 
We have large plastic mirrors in all 4 cabins and it's virtually impossible to tell them from glass ones. SWMBO says that there not quite as "sharp". meaning reflective "sharp", but she's happy with them ...... so so am I.

They're held up with a short strip of double sided tape on the back at each corner.

Richard
 
I would go for the plastic.

"sizes are around 500X800" - that's quite large.

Delivered a 38' AWB in early spring down to the Med. F7 in the Biscay - nothing serious - but the whole boat flexed to the point that the glass mirror of that size jumped out of its frame and shattered everywhere, including the bilges.
An absolute sod to clear up.
Good luck - maybe glue it to the bulkhead as well ?
Glaziers usually have a special (expensive !) glue for glass.

stephenh
 
Well I get all my plastic out of the scrap bin at small factory making up plastic signs etc for nothing!.

I've got a stack of plastic mirror, white plastic off-cuts for signs, two sheets which I am laminating up for the shower/toilet door, plenty of plastic strips to mount my aluminum tanks on (to avoid corrosion) , a nice 24 X 20 X 5/8 sheet (which could make a modest swimming platform) and I think I'll Sikaflex nylon pads to the deck under under each stanchion base (to avoid leaks) I've also got plenty of perspex 8mm - 10mm thick.

I strongly recommend you do a little bit of checking to find a plastic jobber and the ask at the front counter if they'd mind you checking in their scrap bin for a bit of plastic for ...........?
 
'plastic mirror' will be either acrylic or polycarbonate at 3mm thick. Comes in 3050 X 2030mm sheet sizes (also 8'x4' for polycarbonate).
Most suppliers happy to cut to size. The mirrored silver backing is very prone to scratching.

Acrylic shatters to sharp shards but polycarbonate is very robust and is used in schools and prisons.

Regards
Donald
 
vas said:
@macd: does the plastic mirror look plastic and sort of dull? Do you find it scratches easily/at all?
Click to expand...

I sold the mirror and threw in the boat three years ago, but it looked fine then. Looked exactly like a glass one. It wasn't especially scratch-prone (which makes me suspect it wasn't polycarbonate, which scratches easily).

The other advantage of plastic is lightness: mine was mounted on an internal door, occupying about half its area, but adding little extra strain on the hinges.
 
jordanbasset said:
We bought a plastic full length one for the forward cabin. Excellent quality, not cheap though, and if you did not know it would be hard to tell the difference between it and a glass one. Still looked as good after 4 years.
Click to expand...

We did the same but with mirrored stainless steel. Looks good and safe. Not too expensive either.
 
I've just ripped out the original plastic mirrors on my (2001) boat. They were extremely manky, and not from scratching on the front surface, but from moisture getting behind and corroding the silvering on the back. The glass mirror in the same cabin held up to time far better and apart from a cracked corner is still good. Wouldn't bother with plastic ones because of that.
 
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