Any tips on rear view mirror restoration?

My rear view mirror is in pretty rough shape as far as the mirror surface goes. Is there any prevailing wisdom on the best way to open it up and remove the mirror glass? I figure if I can get to it without destroying the housing, it should be easy to get a replacement cut at a glass shop.

Any tips greatly appreciated.
 
What seems to happen to most is that the plastic trim surrounding the glass shrinks and cracks, usually in one of the corners. My interior is in pretty good shape other than the rearview mirror and it kinda irks me whenever I look at it.

Eagerly awaiting restoration tips and tricks! :)
 
What seems to happen to most is that the plastic trim surrounding the glass shrinks and cracks, usually in one of the corners. My interior is in pretty good shape other than the rearview mirror and it kinda irks me whenever I look at it.

Eagerly awaiting restoration tips and tricks! :)
I am in exactly the same boat. I thought about using that corner to start to do the disassembly but figured I'd ask first before doing any damage. My mirror is so bad that you can't see anything behind you in it!
 
Are you talking about the inside mirror or outside mirror? For the inside mirror, I'm not sure if your mirror is the same as mine (83 model), but I inserted a kitchen knife between the plastic and metal housing and pried it apart.

Brian
 
The plastic trim on the interior mirror disintegrated so I took it out to try and fix.
I drove a couple of times with out the mirror and decided I didn't need no stinking mirror.
The side mirrors are enough so I mounted my garage door opener in the spot where the rear view used to be.
It has been that way for over ten years and I haven't missed it once.
 
I have seriously considered getting a universal glue on mirror assembly that just attaches to the windshield like so many OEM US cars had.

I also have pried apart the two outer housings, mostly to clean the oily film off the mirror glass.
 
I've cleaned without disassembly by injecting rubbing alcohol into the housing, sloshing it around and then letting it drain out. I finish drying with compressed air.
 
I have no experience with glue on mirrors but if new screw on replacements are available at a decent price then I would probably go that route.
 
If possible, I'd like to see some pictures of what you guys are talking about in terms of "separating the housing" to clean inside. Maybe mine is different but I don't see what you are taking apart.

Agree about the plastic rim shrinking and cracking - very typical. And frankly that pretty much ruins the mirror in my opinion, regardless if the glass is good or not. But I also agree that the glass portion goes bad, especially around the perimeter it gets dark and murky instead of reflective (which is not repairable, if that is what is being referred to as "cleaning inside"). Another issue tends to be the black plastic housing fading and getting chalky.

I decided to replace the whole assembly with something completely different. So I started looking at options. Took a bunch of photos of various ones at cars shows, etc; classic European models that I've always liked the interiors of. I'll post a couple examples below. Then while doing some shopping at the Pomona Swap Meet I happened to come across a reproduction mirror assembly made for older American 'muscle cars' (don't recall which one at the moment). They are readily available new for little money, and not too difficult to mount in place of the original one (some mods are required, but it is a screw on type). They are made with polished stainless steel housings (lifetime), have the "day/night" feature - which I love, are larger than the stock ones - which I also love, and have a "period" look that I think looks better than the black plastic one. Certainly not the original stock look that I realize many owners prefer, so not for everyone. But it kind of reminds me of the inside mirrors in classic Italian cars.

Random pics of mirrors I like:
c342-gauges.jpg 1961-jaguar-e-type-rear-view-mirror-photo-584040-s-1280x782.jpg Inside mirror 1.jpg MB 190SLR mirror2.jpg 60-Ferrari-250GT_PF_Cabrio-DV-12-PBC_i01.jpg
 
My rear view mirror is in pretty rough shape as far as the mirror surface goes. Is there any prevailing wisdom on the best way to open it up and remove the mirror glass? I figure if I can get to it without destroying the housing, it should be easy to get a replacement cut at a glass shop.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

I’ve done it on both my cars, I’ll write up how later but it involves slicing the existing bezel off the plastic mount and using some square c section rubber edging strip to create a new one.

 
I’ve done it on both my cars, I’ll write up how later but it involves slicing the existing bezel off the plastic mount and using some square c section rubber edging strip to create a new one.
Looking forward to it, thanks.
 
I actually did this just yesterday. Mine is an '87 (I think the later few years had a slightly different mirror, but in what way I don't know). I probably should have detailed it better, but basically:

  • Unscrew the mirror from the car.
  • Heated the rubber/plastic edge a little with a heat gun. Not sure it this helped and for the amount I did it, a hair dryer would also have been just fine.
  • Using the ratty corner as my starting point, I inserted a very thin screwdriver (it did make some marks doing it, but I was too impatient to do it in a more elegant way) to wedge it apart a bit. This took some patience.
  • Once I got it apart a bit, I just kind of pulled the whole thing apart like an Oreo.
  • Once in there, the "mirror" bit held in by some little flaps. Once again, small screwdriver to pry those back and take out the mirror. Once again, probably more elegant tool options. :)
  • After I did this, I left the glass in place since I could now clean both sides of the glass and the mirror.
  • I cleaned both and per Google, cleaned the mirror with some 50:50 rubbing alcohol and water (this is supposed to help with the cloudiness). When I was done it looked pretty good, still some cloudiness that i couldn't get to disappear.
  • Dried and shined with microfiber cloth and reassembled.

I would say it's an 8 of 10. Two days ago the mirror was completely unusable and I was really only able to use the side mirrors (I just bought the car).

Here's the few pics I have using the ratty lower left-hand corner for reference. The corner isn't my fav, but maybe I'll get to that later. For now, I'm just happy to be able to see behind me. :)
Mirror before.png
Side before.png
X1:9 Mirror Back.png
 
I'm getting the impression the "cleaning" that's being referred to here is just dirty glass. Not the tarnished mirror damage that happens with age. It is way too hot to go digging through my storage sheds to find examples, but here is something similar I found online:
black_spots_on_mirrors_l7.jpg

On the rear view mirror it usually starts around the edges, particularly along the bottom edge and corners. And it spreads from there, growing with age. I suspect it might be from moisture getting behind the mirror and damaging the black reflective surface on the back side. Because it is not on the outside glass surface. This cannot be cleaned off or repaired. The only solution for it is to replace the mirror. The older the car the more common it seems to be. So later Bertones are not likely to have it (yet). Just wanted to distinguish what is being talked about.
 
I'm getting the impression the "cleaning" that's being referred to here is just dirty glass. Not the tarnished mirror damage that happens with age. It is way too hot to go digging through my storage sheds to find examples, but here is something similar I found online:
View attachment 23291
On the rear view mirror it usually starts around the edges, particularly along the bottom edge and corners. And it spreads from there, growing with age. I suspect it might be from moisture getting behind the mirror and damaging the black reflective surface on the back side. Because it is not on the outside glass surface. This cannot be cleaned off or repaired. The only solution for it is to replace the mirror. The older the car the more common it seems to be. So later Bertones are not likely to have it (yet). Just wanted to distinguish what is being talked about.
That top center bad spot in your photo example is what my entire mirror looks like. Years ago, I had access to an aluminum evaporator. It would have come in handy now. Last time I had a side view mirror cut to shape it was quick (he did it while I watched) and cheap (under $20). That was in the 90s but it also included cementing the mirror on to the heated mirror base assembly I brought in.
 
I restored mine by discarding it & replacing with a Volvo mirror :D . It's slightly wider field of vision too. Mine suffered the symptom Jeff describes - no way to fiz that.

5-FAFE181-6-C84-4-B15-A112-16-CA9-FA7-CE9-A.jpg
 
So I was going to ask if these stock X1/9 mirrors were adjustable. The mirror in my 85X is stuck I guess, because the day night flipper works, but the mirror otherwise immovable. It has always kinda looked off more to the passenger side than I would like. The good news is, I found what looks to be a new old stock mirror in one of my many inherited parts boxes tonight. Maybe it is just lightly used. Anywho, the "new" mirror moves on it's ball socket with just a little effort. Now I can try harder to adjust the 85's mirror without worrying it will break. :)
 
Based on all the great inputs, I decided to take my mirror apart. Before resorting to disassembly, I decided to use a variant of twincam69's approach by using a mixture of hot water and Dawn. It worked great on cleaning the inner surface of the cover glass but did absolutely nothing for the mirror. It was at this point that I noticed that the plastic edging was becoming quite pliable from the hot water. I used a wood chisel (below) to easily pry the plastic edging out along with the cover glass and mirror without damage. Perhaps the hot water and Dawn provided some lubrication as well.

X19 Rear View Mirror Case Opened with Wood Chisel.jpg


I found the broken pivot from the dimmer handle inside the case:

X19 Rear View Mirror Case Back & Broken Pivot.jpg


I decided to try and fix the broken pivot (probably will glue it back together, drill it out and stick in a steel pin) which required total disassembly:

X19 Rear View Mirror Parts.jpg


Here is a close up of the glass:

X19 Rear View Mirror Glass with Damage.jpg


All of the damage is between the back side of the glass and the mirror surface. The mirror thickness is 2.25mm (.09"). I don't think it will be too hard to get one cut.
 
Back
Top