winger Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 (edited) I've done a fair bit of reading on the subject. But I'm still not quite sure how to go about this. There's an old (pink) Ibanez RG (no pickguard) standing in the corner of my room. Since I don't care much for the pink color I've been thinking about refinishing it. I've always liked the mirrorball Iceman that Paul Stanley (Kiss) used in the 70's. I'd like to try something similar. If I'm correct I should first route out the top. (Thickness of the mirror.) Then cut a mirror to the shape of the guitar body. (A template of the RG body would come in handy. Has anybody got one ?) Cut pieces off of the mirror, grind the cuts to somewhat of a bevel, glue the mirror onto the top. Drill screw holes through the mirror pieces. Mount the hardware. Questions are : Does the glue need to stay a bit flexible or is it better to use a glue that cures hard ? What kind of drill bits do you use for drilling through glass ? Is there someone around with some experience with a similar project ? Edited October 23, 2006 by winger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwestGitarz Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 What about breaking a mirror that is a little larger than the body? Layer it with some rags, top and bottom on a table, then use a hammer just enough to break it in some spots. This would give you some varied piece sizes. Then glue them on mosaic style and sand the edges. Not sure about the sealing part though. Anyone??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 It seems like you'd be better off using a plexi-glass mirror rather than a glass one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 id find a temperd mirror, that thing will shatter into a billion pieces.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winger Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Thanks for your input evryone. However, the general consensus seems to be that it's best to use an acrylic mirror when doing a mirror top in one piece. For a shattered mirror top one should best use the real stuff, and handcut all the pieces. (More control over the pattern this way.) Kamnguitars has some nice examples on their website. (http://kamn.brinkster.net) Just need some more input about the gluing and sealing part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Im not too sure aout the mirror but for the template you can just make your own out of 1/2 ply or simelar. you aleady have the body to get a copy from. itl save you some money too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winger Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 That's true. But since the RG body has a binding around it, I'll have to spend some serious time double checking it's width all around and routing that off of the template. Oh well.... Nobody said it was going o be easy. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 this is a flat top guitar yeh? if you want to keep the binding i would suggest that you rout the top to teh depth of the mirror, glue that on, then re-bind it as you normaly would. if you attemp to keep the origional binding i beleve that you run a very high risk of destroying it anyway. one thought i had was to try and find a realy thin mirro plexi glass, shatter that then glue that on with out routing anything. it would have to be realy thin to avoid having to shim the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winger Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Now there's a thought.... Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoob Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Have a look at this. Cracked Mirror Iceman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winger Posted October 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Yeah Scoob... That's part of what I've been reading. But this was in the mid 70's. Too bad there aren't any brands mentioned for glues etc. A couple of years ago Washburn made the "black diamond". There was a making of video available at the time. I haven't been able to find that one onfortunately. If I Google it, all that pops up are some thumbnails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmullet Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 (edited) Can anyone clarify what they ment by setting the pieces at different angles and how they did it. Edited October 28, 2006 by jtmullet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winger Posted October 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 My guess is they used a good glob of adhesive and (slightly) angled the pieces of mirror in it. (Roughly following the arched top contour.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sashimimi Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Well, the article says to rout out the top then fill with epoxy and press in the mirrors. Any epoxy should do it. Also, he then pured on poly in the joints and sanded smooth, so I would look for some sort of viscous purble poly finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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