Replacing mirrors

[MagicalArmchair]

The mirrors on Mirage are mightily damaged by water getting behind them. One of the last things to make her look really smart indeed would be to replace these. I have purchased mirrored acrylic in the right sizes, however, what’s the best way to apply it?

My first thought was to lever the old mirrors off and then stick the new ones up... however, that would lead, I suspect, in the mirrors coming off in many many fragments. The other option is to stick the new mirrors over the old. Lazy madness? Or a wise shortcut? Has anyone else undertaken this mission?

[Krumelur]

Personally, I’d get the old ones off. But it’s mainly because I would always know that the crappy looking stuff is behind the new shiny one.
I guess, I would  try to carefully apply some heat to the mirrors to make the glue behind them more cuttable. Then start at the corners and use a long, flexible blade and hope that these corners would be the main points where the mirror is attached to the hull.
If that does not work I would try to use dental floss or a piece of thin wire as it is used to cut clay. With bees it should be possible to cut through all the way if the glue is soft enough.

Mirror replacement is at the very bottom of my list but eventually I’ll have to get to it. So I’d be happy to see you experimenting!  😂

[Lazy Pelican]

Our mirrors were/ are fixed with sikaflex like adhesive sealant. Easy to prise off.
Refix with the same or double sided foam tape, like they use for car number plates.

[sy_Anniina]

Ours were replaced by the broker / yard that sold us the boat. Based on schedule / timing it was seemingly quite straightforward operation.

A hint I got form boating colleague from our club: the acrylic mirrors corrode as humidity seeps in between metal and acrylic from cut edges. All edges should be sealed e.g. with Hammerite or other suitable low-permeability paint before installation

BR,

Tommi
s/y Anniina

[MagicalArmchair]

Thank you all, I will attempt to remove these suckers then. If I can get them off in one piece, that will also be beneficial as I can then use the old ones as a template to cut the new.

[Salty]

I have recently changed some mirrors at home that were stuck on using double sided adhesive tape, I say at home because now I do not have a boat, but the method used to put the mirrors in place initially had been the same as when I replaced them on the boat I had at the time, namely a B36(2002).

What I used was a long thin and fairly fine toothed hack saw blade with some tape wrapped around one end to form a more comfortable handle than trying to grip just the blade. By keeping the handle area as thin as possible allowed the saw blade to pass easily behind the old mirror. With the blade between the mirror and the wall I was able to find the double sided tape, and to saw down through the middle of each strip of the tape, and without damaging the coating on the back of each mirror. Careful positioning of the blade allowed each strip of tape to be cut through, and the mirror came off.

Once off the remains of each piece of double sided tape on each could be peeled away easily and then washed in a suitable adhesive remover to remove the last remnants of the tape. The new larger mirror was then fastened in place using the same double sided adhesive tape.