Cheap mirror replacement?

[Pancolart]

I wonder if there is such "alufólia" or other material to simply scissor cut and use instead of age washed TLR 6x6 mirror. Any other idea?

[peterqd]

What camera? I think a foil layer above the old mirror, even though it's very thin, would probably throw the focussing out of accuracy.
Silvered glass is the only choice.

I'm just about to order a new mirror for my Yashica Mat 124 from here
http://www.uscamera.com/international/yashicatlr1005.htm

and a new focussing screen from here
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-175.html

maybe they can help you.

[ForenSeil]

Do you know a hobby chemist etc.?
He could easily resilver the glass

U only need a little silver nitrate, ammonia and glucose
There are many receips on the net.
Costs only a few cents and takes ony about an hour if you know somebody who already has the chemicals (most hobby chemists do).

Results are if done correctly even visibly better than with brand-new mirrors, as silver is reflecting up to 20% more light than normal mirror coatings

Duration of a real silver surface is "only" 3-5 years which is the reason that most mirrors are made from aluminium instead of silver.

[luisalegria]

You could look for a plastic mirror. These are available in several thicknesses and materials.
In the US we have a popular source of plastic materials -

http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/acrylic_sheets_mirror_clear/521

There may be a similar vendor in Europe.

[Farside]

[Pancolart]

Thank you for suggestions! I'll let you know what i will be able to find in Slovenia. I guess it's better to have bright and "less detailed" mirror then a dull one.

[ForenSeil]

Another idea:
Star diagonals are also good sources of very bright high quality optical mirrors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_diagonal

Nearly all of them have 90%+ reflection (some even 99%) which is more than usual SLR mirrors, gives you a slightly brighter image.
And they are very common used on Ebay

But be be careful to buy a mirror diagonal and not a prism diagonal - the look similar from the outside

[Farside]

Just thought of something I recall from messing around with Polaroids. One of them, SX-70, has a large first-surface mirror in it, and will probably be available locally.
Worthwhile looking it up first.
http://www.coolhunting.com/design/polaroid-sx-70.php
I don't recall how large the mirror is, though.

[martinsmith99]

How much does thickness vary and how much is this likely to throw focus off?

[luisalegria]

Old Polaroid cameras are indeed a good source, I used this material a couple of times to make replacement mirrors for folding cameras "brilliant" finders.

The trouble is they are thin glass and quite difficult to cut.

[luisalegria]

I would think that any replacement mirror would throw off infinity, so it would have to be adjusted anyway.
The usual adjustment would be by shimming the groundglass, not the mirror.

[Lloydy]

I just read on another camera site about this company -

http://www.scientificmirrors.co.uk/

who advertise