So this thing with mirrors happened...

[JPaganel]

I got a pair of mirrors from FJMonkey. They had the weights broke loose.

In order to fix that I drilled a hole. When I did that, I realized that there were foam chunks inside. I decided to blow them out so that new adhesive sticks better. So I drilled a second hole and blew some compressed air in.

Apparently, the foam chunks clogged the second hole. With a pop the whole mirror glass jumped out, completely intact.

So, now with access to the inside of the mirror, I cleaned up the foam (it dissolves with MEK, and mirror shell does not). And now I'm gluing the weights. Hopefully I can just pop the glass back in.

Curious, ain't it?

[FJmonkey]

Wow! Glad the glass is still intact. You will need to warm the plastic up to avoid breaking the glass putting it back in.

[Flynt]

put shell in boiling water for a few minutes...  once it's good and hot, the glass will pop right back in.

Frank

[FJmonkey]

Good Frank, I was thinking an oven at 170ish but boiling water is much more controlled. If it seems to stiff then back in for a little more time.

[JPaganel]

Oops. I did it again.

With the other mirror.

Seems compressed air is a viable way of getting glass out of mirrors...

[FJmonkey]

I just looked up the melting temp of Nylon 6/6, what the mirror housings are most likely made of. It melts at 515F or 269C, Franks boiling water trick will not over heat your mirror housings. Get them nice and soft, then work quickly as they will cool quickly once out of the hot water. Good luck...