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Cheap side-view mirror scale mod...

high plains drifter

I wanna be Dave
Subscribed Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2017
Messages
2,039
Location
Austin Texas
I paid just under $5 for a package of self-adhesive mirrors... technically "reflective plastic mirror plate" but the look is real. These were originally part of a Valentine's Day gift so that's why they're heart-shaped lol. Since I had plenty left over, the idea came to me that I could use some of the material to make actual mirrors for my TRX4. Fwiw The plate material is 1.43mm thick which is PERFECT for seating them flush into the recessed TRX4 side-view mirror housings.

Really simple: Carefully peel the original mirror decal off of the housing. Go slow so as to not stretch or tear it. Then just stick the decal to the top of the real mirror ( using the decal as a template) and fire up the Dremel. Use a thin cutting disk attachment ( and a drum sander attachment to finish). Once it's completely cut-out and smooth along the edges, you can simply peel off the decal and you have a beautiful realistic mirror to insert into the housing. These mirrors have a protective backing on the adhesive underside that needs to be removed, so just peel it off and then press the mirror into place... Voila!... actual mirrors!

Only real downside might be that since the housings on the TRX4 are rather flexible, the mirror could potentially come off with a hard hit if the housing bends or twists. But for the price, the ease of making them ( took me about 5 minutes per side), and how much material you get for under $5... you can make a bunch of em and replace when necessary. Idk how long the adhesive will keep it's "stick" but you could always run a little E6000 or something to get better adhesion if you wanted. I'm personally not going to do that though because I'd rather be able to replace the mirror easily if they get scratched up.

I've seen TRX4 mirror inserts for sale on ebay from $5 to $7 but that's just for one set. For less than $5 you can instead easily/ quickly fabricate some and have an endless supply.

Anyway... Pics:







Last image shows the new mirror next to the original decal... night and day difference!

 
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