How to age a mirror without harsh chemicals

I have seen many projects online to age a mirror but most use an acid to remove part of the mirror... which didn't thrill me! I found common household bleach does the trick just as well.

If you were to flip over a mirror, you would see it's usually covered with a gray coating. Under the gray, there is a copper coating. This copper coating (it's sometimes a different color) is on top of a piece of clear glass. The copper coating is what makes the glass a reflective mirror. I had this cubby hole in my kitchen that I thought would be a perfect spot for my mirror project.

My Before and After Aged Mirror Project

 Learn how to do it yourself!

How to age a mirror without harsh chemicals. Facci Designs

1. Gather your supplies:
• Mirror
• Clorox Bleach
• Paint Scraper
• Paint Remover
• Gloves and rags
• Spray bottle
• Paint brush
• Black or dark gray spray paint

2. Work in an open, well-ventilated area. Here I am applying my paint remover...I should be wearing my gloves.
3. To remove the gray backing of your mirror to expose the copper-colored coating that covers your piece of glass, flip your mirror over and brush your paint remover onto the back completely covering the surface. Let set to manufacturers directions. Hint: Don't let it set too long, you want to remove all of the gray coating, but sometimes if you leave your paint remover on too long, it will remover the copper coating as well.
4. Here you can see how the paint remover has bubbled...it's time to remove it.
5. Even though I'm using a pretty safe paint remover, I still want to wear my gloves. Remove all of the paint remover with your scraper to reveal the copper underneath. Safely discard the remover. Clean off the excess of paint remover with a damp paper towel.
6. Add some bleach to a spray bottle and spray sparingly along the edges of your mirror...or wherever you want your mirror to look aged. The edges is where old mirror would've aged first. Let sit for a bit then wipe or dab off. (Maybe a few seconds to a minute) You can always wipe off a little to see if the bleach has removed the copper. If not, just spray some more.
7. This is what the bleach did to the surface. You want to be able to see through those spots to reveal clear glass.
8. Once you're happy with the amount of "spots" you removed, now it's time to paint over them. Wipe dry and spray entire back of mirror with black spray paint. You can also use a dark gray paint. Let dry. Your mirror is ready to be framed or used however you like.

I placed my mirror in a cubby, installed a shelf and to display some vintage glasses