Recently, a member of one of the forums I’m on asked if anyone had any experience installing a mirror aboard their boat. I answered in the affirmative and said I would check for any pictures and post them, hence this post.
There are three common types of mirrors used aboard boats: plastic, stainless steel and glass. Before doing my install, I looked at both the plastic and stainless steel mirrors. Let me amend that, I looked at them with my wife present. What might be acceptable to some of us guys was certainly not acceptable to my wife. So the final choice was a glass mirror, back silvered like the one in your home’s bathroom.
The downside to this type of material is that they aren’t made from safety glass. If they are struck, they shatter into ugly glass shards. I certainly didn’t want to have shards of glass flying around the v-berth should something strike the mirror. I decided to permanently mount the mirror to a backing board with 3M5200. A uniform coat of 5200 on the backside of the mirror would keep any shards firmly attached to the backing board.
As much as I searched, I couldn’t find any information about the compatibility of 5200 and the silvered back of the mirror. There was a chance that the sealant might attack and discolor the mirror, ruining it. By using a backing board, I could easily remove a defective mirror and replace it.
The mirror was installed in a new door at the vanity in our v-berth. The glass mirror was bonded to a1/4” teak faced piece of plywood. The plywood/mirror sandwich fitted into a rabbet in the door frame and was held in place with some standard mirror clips.
I can happily report that after 10 years, there is no sign of any deterioration of the mirror properties. I can also report that it hasn’t been hit to test the adhesive, either, but that’s a good thing!
Remember, this is my solution to the problem, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)!
Capt’n Pauley
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