What is distressed mirror?

Distressed mirror is silvered glass than has been  manipulated by use of  a chemical reaction to produce abstract mirror designs on glass.
Distressed mirror/ Fauxed mirror/ Antique mirror are the most common names to describe this technique.
There are 3 x methods to distress a mirror.

1 :  By chemically corroding an all ready silvered mirror.
This is done by stripping the paint to expose the silver then adding a corrosive liquid like  Ammonia or  Chlorine to the silvered side.
This method is commonly used by the experimenter or hobbyist, the result is usually disappointing.

2 : The second method is to place an inhibiting substance to the glass before the normal silvering process takes place, this may include Calcium Carbonate  - Urea - Stannous Chloride - Zinc Oxide.
The silver will not be able to adhere to the glass normally and will leave varying degrees of grayish
dark patches - spots - clouds and streaking on the mirror.
This method is favoured by companies that manufacture bulk commercially distressed mirrors on   the silvering line.
The down side to this method is that it can give an unimpressive mono carpet like appearance.

3 :  The third method for distressing mirrors called Florentine mirror the method used by 
The Manhattan Mirror Co  Melbourne is to carefully manipulate metallic chemicals into the silver during the silvering process.
Trace elements of cobalt - copper - gold - tin etc can be extracted and formed on the glass as the silver is reduced from silver nitrate to pure silver.

There are only a handful of Artisans currently in Australia performing this type of work.
Florentine distressed mirror can be used on glass dining tables - coffee tables - feature mirror walls - splashbacks - bathroom wall and floor tiles and outdoor mirrors.
A variety of edge work is available from the Manhattan Mirror Co and includes flat polished edges - bevelled edges – or the very smart Triple C edges   as per sample.

What’s Hot at the Moment:  15mm or 19mm Thick Dining table Tops Silvered Florentine Style Mirror with a Triple C Edge All Round.

The Manhattan Mirror Co manufactures & delivers Australia wide antique / distressed / fauxed mirror / glass tiles & coffee / dining table tops made to size at no extra cost.

Price guide:

12 mm toughened florentine distressed mirror glass table top 8 seater 3000 x 1000 mm > $1750
If you imported this table from Italy, you would pay over $5000.

Bevelled distressed mirror tiles 300 x 300 mm > $37 each.

Border mirror tiles
Decorating with distressed glass mirror tiles can open up a small bathroom and give your room that special relaxed elegance.
Our unique 10 mm toughened Florentine bathroom mirror floor tiles will unequivocally out-smart everyone else’s bathroom.