Friday, October 28, 2011

As good as it gets today

Make frame and fit in backerboard.
The frames are made from Walnut wood that we have on hand from  Mark's wood working days.
Mark makes the frames for me and cuts to fit the backer board. I then sand twice and put on coats of wipe on poly and then a coat of paste wax goes on the whole thing.
Mark cuts for me pieces of Masonite that I glue into place.
Then I start testing out tiles to see what I Like.
I mix my handmade tiles in the corners with some good commercial tiles.

You can still see where I pried off the stuff that did not worked- but the Masonite stayed right  in place.
I use mastic to put down the tiles- let that cure a day and then grout.
Before I grout I use blue tape to cover the mirror and the handmade tiles.

On this one we used a grout that has Portland cement in it. It was not as sandy and seemed to work very well.
I plan on using this again with a  bit of red to it for the next mirror.
After it cures you can sand it if you want to,I did ,and  then apply a sealer.

The bottom one we used a sanded grout that I added some color to. We have done this a few times using a ready made grout- note on this one is that some things, such as iron, made the grout shrink more causing some cracking. When that happens just fill the cracks with more grout, cure and seal.

Finished product and disclaimer: I have only made these twice and really don't know what I am doing.
It is still a work in progress for me.
There are times, as we all know, that I think, "Why the heck am I taking on something new right now?"

This is it in the edited version- there were no words added that would embarrass anyone involved.
Although you can add them if you like.
Back to the wheel and planning a gas firing.
Cheers!
M

9 comments:

Tracey Broome said...

I like your mirrors, you seem to know what you are doing just fine! I think we always need to keep trying new things, it's how we grow. For instance what the heck was I doing out ripping down barns yesterday with all that I still need to make in less than 30 days!?

cookingwithgas said...

I know Tracey! And now we both better get our selves to work! :)!

Judy Shreve said...

Your tiled mirrors are wonderful! I'll bet they'll be good sellers for Christmas presents. And you seem to have this technique down -- you just had a 'thumbs' kind of day before! -- and I didn't feel the need to add any colorful words while reading :-)

Anna M. Branner said...

Is the masonite only for glueing the mirror on?

I think they are beautiful. :)

Linda Starr said...

Those mirrors are wonderful; sometimes things take trial and error to get them right; I have lots of errors and trials. Ha.

cookingwithgas said...

Thanks- I have hope my thumbs are turning back to fingers..
Anna-We put masonite under the mirror and the tiles.
I glue the mirror and use mastic for the tiles.

Anna M. Branner said...

Hm Now I am a little confused. Backerboard, with Masonite glued on that? And THEN all the tiles and mirror?

Your pictures look like just masonite under the mirror. :/

cookingwithgas said...

oh you are right i am not being clear- masonite is glued to backer board and then the mirror. The corners where the handmade tiles are get Masonite- because they are not as thick as the handmade tiles- does this help?

Anna M. Branner said...

Got it! :)