HOW TO CUT GLASS- BEVELED MIRROR STRIPS
PENDING ON YOUR SPECIFIC JOB....THESE ARE THE TOOLS YOU MAY NEED
SPEED SQUARE GLASS CUTTER LEVEL
MIRROR MASTIC FELT MARKER 220 GRIT SAND PAPER
SILICONE TWO WAY TAPE TAPE MEASURE
We have stocked our shop and tool boxes purchased from CRLaurence for many of years.
Many of the tools and products you may need for home use in cutting and installing
Beveled Mirror Strips can be found in other stores like Home Depot, Hardware Stores, etc.
If you have problems locating tools or supplies necessary we can assist you. Email Us
Necessary Reading: *A SCRIBE is the CUT MARK the glass cutter makes.*
There is more than one way to skin a catfish, and many ways to cut glass.
This is a brief description of "How We Do It"; hopefully it will help you have an idea as to
what it takes and improve your outcome while working on your own project.
There will be many things you will learn as you go about the task of cutting, but one of the most
important things to learn is the pressure you put on the cutter while scribing. With a new cutter,
it does not take much pressure to see the scribe you are making. If you lighten the pressure and the
cutter SKIPS...you will go back and scribe ONLY the section of space where there is no scribe.
Running your cutter over THE SAME scribe more than once will damage your cutter and often
it will not be useable after that without skipping each time you use it. If you have trouble keeping
the same pressure on the cutter, you can dip your cutter in oil or spray WD-40 where you will be cutting.
This will cool your cut but it makes it harder to see where you have skipped while scribing.
IT IS BEST TO PRACTICE A FEW CUTS BEFORE YOU MAKE "A MONEY CUT".
If you practice with a Bevel Mirror Strip, you can cut 2" off at a time.
Any less will be hard to break and will often make flares on the end of the Mirror Strip.
(note: how to cut glass, how to cut mirror, how to cut beveled mirror strips, all fall under the same
question, HOW TO CUT GLASS, OR HOW TO CUT MIRROR. It is all glass. Cutting mirror
is done on the face side and the procedure is the same as cutting glass. glass mirror is the same)
CUTTING BEVEL MIRROR STRIPS: "SQUARE CUTS"
We will start here as if you have already measured your walls (or mirror for frame)
and have the SIZE you need the bevel strips to be.
How we hold our cutters.
1. Put the Mirror Strip on a flat surface (preferably a thin carpeted table) and
measure from one end to the length that you need to cut AND MARK IT
with felt marker. It is best to make one "thin" mark. You will want to split that
mark with your cutter when you cut.
2. Put the Speed Square up on the Mirror Strip, now put your cutter
on the middle of the mark that you made, then slide your Square over
to touch your cutter. Note: Your Speed Square will be approximately 3/32"
from the mark you made. That is due as to where the wheel is on the cutter
and the edge of the cutter. Having the lip on the square up against the
Mirror Strip will guide you through a straight and square cut.
3. Gently (without pressure) roll the cutter slowly away from you to the far side
of the Mirror Strip, and when you feel the cutter rolling off the far edge of the
Mirror Strip, roll the cutter back to you until it is on the very top edge of the
Mirror Strip (this is the starting position of making a scribe).
4. NOW, apply pressure on the cutter (also pressure against the square) and
roll it toward you all the way until it comes off the Mirror Strip. Be sure to keep
your cutter up against the square.
This should have made a scribe on the Mirror Strip.
5. Put a round wooden pencil under the Mirror Strip exactly under the scribe.
Use a pencil that is longer than the width of the mirror so that it reaches under
the entire scribe.
6. Apply pressure with both hands to the top of the Mirror Strip evenly away
from the scribe on both sides (at least 2" away from scribe).
With the pencil under the Mirror Strip this will snap the Mirror Strip where
you scribed it.
AFTER YOU HAVE "MASTERED" CUTTING THE MIRROR STRIP:
1. Take the 220 grit Sandpaper and sand both ends, front and back.
If you have the Mirror Strip laying on the table with one end hanging off the
table edge (appx. 2" or 3") make the motion of your sanding go down.
Flip the Mirror Strip over and sand the back side with your sanding motion
going down. If you flip the mirror and have the mirror back on top, you have to
sand down. If your sanding motion goes up, it will cause a chipping effect on
the mirror backing. Same for the top side of Mirror Strip.
Going in the wrong direction will cause little chips on the strip that will shine
in the light and leave an unwanted look on your mirror.
(A) If you are putting your Mirror Strips directly on a wall (sheet rock or panel)
you are now ready to put Mirror Mastic on the back of the Mirror Strip to stick it
on the wall.
1a. Apply a "Dab" of Mirror Mastic about the size of a quarter and appx. 3/8" thick.
We usually go with Four Dabs on short strips and on long strips we Dab about
12" apart for the length of the strip. Then (with Level if required) line the
Mirror Strip up where you are mounting it to the wall and press it on. Try to
put the pressure you use at the point where you Dabed the Mirror Mastic.
You need to press in until the strip is about 1/8" from the wall.
Note: This is for mounting full length Mirror Strips that go down to rest on the
floor mold or at least resting on something such as back splashes.
The Mirror Mastic takes a few days to cure and WILL NOT hold the
Mirror Strip suspended on the wall.
(B) If you are putting your Mirror Strips on a Mirror as a frame, you are now ready
to put Two Way Tape and Silicone on the Mirror Strip to stick it to the Mirror.
1a. Cut the Two Way Tape 2" long and apply side ways to the back of the strip.
We apply five pieces of tape to small strips or about 10" apart on long strips.
Pull off the paper from the Two Way Tape then apply small spots of Silicone
between each piece of tape your have applied.
2a. You have to line up exactly where you are going to stick the Mirror Strip to
mirror for frame. Once you place the Mirror Strip on the mirror, you will not be
able to move it. So be sure to line it up EXACTLY where you want it before you
let it touch the mirror.
Note: You can put the tape on the back of the mirror...don't take the paper
off, line it up (with Level if required) where you want it and make a
mark with your FELT MARKER for a placement guide.
We hope this helped and we will be working on this page to make the
instructions more user friendly. If you have questions, please feel free to
We will be posting instruction on:
CUTTING BEVELED MIRROR STRIPS
cutting safety mirror
drilling holes for outlets in glass
window glass
obscure
tempered
tinted
laminated
insulated
reflective
glass mirror