broken kitchen mirror

[Davinci]

Have a 1999 Monaco Diplomat 38a. My wife hung a easter decoration on the mirror where the slide comes in and its broken 4 of the 7 pieces. What kind of options do I have to repair it? I'm not even sure how to get to the glass that's in the corner as the slide wall and cabinets are in the way for the bottom half of the glass? My carpentry skills are almost non-existent lol.

 

Thanks

Jason

 

 

[CLIFF918]

Jason,

A good glass shop could help you out.

My 2002 Diplomat has the mirror in the same location.

Cliff

[Guest Ray Davis]

When I had a wall mirror break in our Windsor I removed the whole mirror and found the wood behind it was finished so I left the mirror off.

However, the mirror was attached with a black rubbery mastic that I was able to rub off of the wood with my thumb.  That was quite a job rubbing it off,  but today you cannot tell and no one has ever mentioned it plus we don't miss it.

In your case,  it looks a little more difficult because of the cabinet.   I would start by looking inside the cabinet to see if the cabinet back will come out.   I seriously doubt that it will, so you or someone may need to cut a hole in the back large enough so you can remove the bottom half of the mirror.    A thin sheet of stained plywood to cover the hole & no one will ever know.

Be careful,  large pcs of broken glass are dangerous.  Gloves and masking tape on those sharp edges are a good idea.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ray Davis

[Davinci]

22 minutes ago, Ray Davis said:

When I had a wall mirror break in our Windsor I removed the whole mirror and found the wood behind it was finished so I left the mirror off.

However, the mirror was attached with a black rubbery mastic that I was able to rub off of the wood with my thumb.  That was quite a job rubbing it off,  but today you cannot tell and no one has ever mentioned it plus we don't miss it.

In your case,  it looks a little more difficult because of the cabinet.   I would start by looking inside the cabinet to see if the cabinet back will come out.   I seriously doubt that it will, so you or someone may need to cut a hole in the back large enough so you can remove the bottom half of the mirror.    A thin sheet of stained plywood to cover the hole & no one will ever know.

Be careful,  large pcs of broken glass are dangerous.  Gloves and masking tape on those sharp edges are a good idea. 

Understood, thanks for sharing the info. There is a wooden trim piece at the top and bottom but they don't seem to have any screws holding them in, did they use a glue or how would I go about removing those wood pieces?

Also when you removed the glass did it come out in pieces or how tough was the adhesive? I'd like to salvage the good glass and replace the broken pieces if possible. 

[Guest Ray Davis]

Yeah, I originally planned to replace the glass too but realized we liked it without the mirror.  Nowadays I try to avoid mirrors.  LOL   Mine was not 2 mirrors like yours is.  I had only 1 mirror about like your left one.   I used a long serrated kitchen knife and sort of sawed the stickum/glue from each side.  The adhesive was a nonhardening sticky stuff so the glass wouldn't vibrate loose. IIRC it came out in 2 pieces, it appears yours may need to be broken up unless you take out both mirrors, and even that might not help much.  Besides, you would probably break it by taking it out.  I don't think I had the wood trim top & bottom,  but it's been a long time.                            If you can't see any nails or brads I'm guessing the wood trim is glued to the glass, wall, or both.  fun fun.    I doubt it's a job your local RV shop is dying to do so they might give you some hints so you won't bring it in or a glass shop might help,  take your pictures with you.

[Tom Cherry]

Monaco either screwed things in….like mounting a cabinet or such….and their were weird angles, but that is the beauty of a SQUARE drive….it doesn’t cam out….snd why popular in the furniture industry…..and why Allen and Torx are used today.

I had a similar trim piece come off.  All the trim pieces like those  were nailed in with “pins” or tiny finishing nails with hardly a “head”.  A knife blade and a putty knife and then a thin, small pry bar will work.  Just find a corner, on the bottom, and start the “removal”.  You CAN use double stick to reapply….but you can purchase a pin gun at Northern Tool or Harbor Freight.  Take a few of the pins to Lowe’s and see what gauge or diameter they are….then get a pneumatic gun and reattach afterwards.

Ray makes a good point. If the glass was glued and no wooden perimeter, then they (trim pieces) may be glued.  A sturdy Swiss Army main blade slid up under should separate the wood from the glass.  Get it wide enough and get a short hack saw blade and tape the end like a handle and “saw” or abrade the adhesive out.  You might get lucky and get some clearance and usea pry bar….once you have made some cuts or a strip of cuts…..then use a thin towel to keep from shattering the glass..  it will come off….but one has to be creative.  A carpenter would never assemble the door that way….

put this in a browser…..lots of videos and suggestions….it also shows how to remove glued on mirrors….good luck  if you had an artist friend….paint over the cracks and have a “hand painted” frame….like a cloud…..LOL….My daughter is an artist.  You might consider a pulled back “curtain” on each end….think out of the box…..conceal and cover…..not demolish.  If you don’t replace the mirror, that room will seem like a solitary confinement cell or “SHRINK”.  Just an opinion….if you decide to demo the mirror and not replace, get some brown paper and cover the mirrors and then evaluate the effect…..

removing wooden trim glued to a mirror youtube

[RNMCBR]

I released my mirror from the foam tape with a tool I made from a hack saw blade. I ground the teeth flat so they wouldn’t dig into the paneling or scratch the mirror back. I bent the end so I could hold it with a pair of vice grips and heated it with a propane torch. It cut through the tape pretty easily. 

[Paul J A]

Cover the entire area with duct tape. Controls the splinters. Ppl have used; a fish line, behind the glass. A table knife. A very wide spatula type devise. IF you have/ know anyone with a band saw, ask for an old blade. Cut it to a length you want. The heated blade Roy M used sounds pretty effective. Patience is the virtue of success here.

[Dick Roberts]

On 5/7/2023 at 12:14 PM, Davinci said:

Have a 1999 Monaco Diplomat 38a. My wife hung a easter decoration on the mirror where the slide comes in and its broken 4 of the 7 pieces. What kind of options do I have to repair it? I'm not even sure how to get to the glass that's in the corner as the slide wall and cabinets are in the way for the bottom half of the glass? My carpentry skills are almost non-existent lol.

 

Thanks

Jason

 

 

 

Jason, my 99 36B Diplomat has the same mirrors. If you're still looking for a solution, I hope this helps.

The large mirror on mine broke on the bottom. I used packing tape to cover the entire mirror so it wouldn't shatter, and then left it alone until I could get to a good place to remove it. By that time it had begun to bow away from the wall. I used a wooden yardstick to slide between the mirror and the wall and broke the seal of the remaining glue. Then I just slid it out of the wooden tracks. Yours being the inside mirror, that won't work for you.

The top track on mine is pinned in three places, circled in my pic's, but you don't have to remove that. Cover your mirror in clear packing tape to prevent a mess and/or injury, and break it some more. There is a vinyl backing on the mirror, so it's not going to shatter all over your coach. It'll take some work to pull it loose from the glue, but it'll come.

Also, it's only the outside mirror that goes to the floor. The inside mirror only goes a couple of inches below the counter top. As you can see, I haven't finished removing the remaining glue. Also, Monaco put the same wallpaper on that wall as the rest of the coach before they installed the mirrors. So if you get the glue off, you don't have to cover it with anything and it'll still look good.