Where to buy 2 way mirror in USA

[Bones]

Im getting ready to make my first MM. I would like to make it a full length mirror. I am having trouble finding a glass mirror. The ones I see in other countries are expensive. I am considering acrylic mirror and mirror film if needed. I have looked on Amazon but only found a 12"x12" mirror. Any suggestions as to a place to buy the 2 way glass/acrylic mirror ? Than you for ANY help or suggestions.

[psm9]

Hi, there!

I live in NJ and I’ve built 4 MMs over the last 2 months.
I’ve found 2 main places that sell the mirrors online.
One is Tap Plastics

The other is Two Way Mirrors.

The first one just has acrylics. I’ve used them for 3 of the MMs I made (the largest were using 24 inch monitors).
I tried both their 1/8 and 3/16 thickness. Both show the MM text very well, but they’re not perfect mirrors. There’s a bit of a fun-house effect as you move around. Not much, but noticeable. Their prices were fairly reasonable.

I used Twowaymirrors.com for my big MM (used a 37 inch TV). On their website, you can buy samples of the various glasses/acrylic they sell. They have some glass mirrors designed for exactly this purpose. The only problem is that the glass gets very expensive very quickly if you need a large mirror. Also, much heavier than the acrylic.

So, I bought their acrylic mirror for my big one. It was a bit more expensive than TAP, but they had a 1/4 in thickness that I hoped would be more stable. (It is) I don’t notice any warping/fun-house effect at all. It’s fairly light, as well. The only downside is that acrylic scratches much more easily. The perimeter of the mirror got a bit scratched as I maneuvered it into the frame, but it’s only noticeable from a few inches away.

TAP ships from California, so it took about a week each time to get it to New Jersey. TwoWayMirrors.com ships from OH, so it came a few days faster.

One of the smart mirror tutorials I came across online (can’t find it now) mentioned going to a local plastics place to have their mirror cut. I called around to glass places near me, but nobody could help. Maybe if you’re in a big city…

I’ve never used the mirror film, so can’t vouch for it.

Hope that helps. Good luck with the project!

[cowboysdude]

I just went down to my local glass shop and they ordered me a two way mirror. The glass flavor is quite expensive so I found out LOL

Whatever you do just make sure you buy a good one or the image looking back at you will be wavy and distorted.

[ottobot]

I’m in texas. I found a place that sells full sheets(48"x96") of 3mm for $202. There’s also an amazon seller that has decent prices on smaller pieces and they offer prime shipping:

https://www.amazon.com/12-Acrylic-See-Through-Mirror/dp/B017ONH3EG/ref=sr_1_1?m=A25VKIYYECJBLT&s=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1487249576&sr=1-1

[cowboysdude]

Just remember the thicker for plastic stuff the better quality, or so I have found!

I had some of the thin stuff… funhouse mirror time LOL

[Bones]

WOW Great information from everyone, thank you all for the help :) time to do a little more research.

[spacevolt]

@psm9 would you say the 3/16 thickness is better than the 1/8? Or do they both have the same amount of fun house effect?

[psm9]

@spacevolt
the 3/16 is better. There’s still a bit of distortion, but noticeably less than the 1/8. I’d go with that

The 1/4 inch from twowaymirrors.com is a bit better than that, but is the most expensive.

[creo519]

I would avoid ordering from TAP plastics… Would not recommend this company. Shipment came damaged and was painful to deal with them.
Ended up costing me over $200 extra to pay shipping and duties twice on a poor quality item.
Even UPS called them to correct their shipping invoice to reflect as replacement item and was shocked TAP plastic refused to make correction.
Horrible customer service.

[bhepler]

@creo519 - I’m sorry to hear that. My experience with TAP Plastics was a positive one.