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View Full Version : Car side mirrors. Glass?


mcate
04-14-2017, 08:17 PM
Are car side mirrors real glass or some kinds of plastic? I just bought a set of 2012 Mustang mirrors & the glass is swirled up pretty bad. Wondering what to try to restore them with.
Venomv8
04-15-2017, 12:50 AM
be very careful if you go correcting on them. You can burn through the mirror coating fairly easy. Id definitely start easy on them and work your way up. Most that Ive seen have been a mirror coated plastic lens. I have used a very light polish and a finishing pad before with good results to get off very fine swirls and water spots.
GSKR
04-15-2017, 05:58 AM
be very careful if you go correcting on them. You can burn through the mirror coating fairly easy. Id definitely start easy on them and work your way up. Most that Ive seen have been a mirror coated plastic lens. I have used a very light polish and a finishing pad before with good results to get off very fine swirls and water spots.

Agree and there easy to cracking as well.
mcate
04-15-2017, 06:59 AM
You can burn through the mirror coating fairly easy.

Exactly why I asked! I did just that on the mirror of an old Nikon DSLR camera of mine. The drivers side mirror is really swirled & I'd like to clear it up as best I can. Thanx!
Powerwheels
04-15-2017, 06:48 PM
My son's mustang mirrors look non glass to me and have water spots. Is vinegar ok to try on them before trying a very light polish?

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11Silverado
04-16-2017, 10:56 AM
My mirror glass had swirls in it as well and I tried polishing them. It didn't go well and I burned through the mirror coating. I was just planning on ordering new mirror glass anyhow so I figured I didn't have much to lose.
Calendyr
04-16-2017, 08:59 PM
Wow. Ford keeps impressing me with the lack of quality on their cars. That is crazy. How much can they possibly save on putting a piece of coated plastic instead of a glass mirror? A few dimes? Ridiculous.

Anyway. Plastic is really easy to polish. M205 would do it in a very few passes and I would use a non-aggressive pad as well. Like a light polishing pad or even a finishing pad.

Make sure to put some protection on them when you are done. A coating would be a good idea.
Powerwheels
04-19-2017, 09:17 AM
I was outside and my son's mustang mirrors have water spots that I previously could not wash off. I tried ultimate liquid wax as it seemed to chemically remove minor spots when waxing paint. Well, the spots disappeard!

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