Krylon vs Rustoleum Mirror Spray Paint Comparison 

I make real chemically silvered glass mirrors with real silver. I decided to try this KRYLON Looking Glass aerosol spray product. I was very satisfied on how it turns out. It even took me several attempts to get perfect results but it can be done. I think because I make real mirrors and understand the process that it helped me achieve perfect results from this product. A real key is to spray very light even rapid coats from the proper distance, more like 12-13 inches from the glass(especially from a new can when volume/pressure is higher) and let it dry well in between coats. the point being that the paint is very thin and fast drying so that the super fine aluminum metallic paint flakes suck down tight and flat to the glass surface between each thin coat. Doing this gives them their ultimate bright reflectivity and eveness. In her video you can see that she actually FLOODS quite a bit of rippled liquid spray build up("runs") which allows the flakes to pile and wash onto each other and this flooding blocks their smooth and fast drying placement on the glass surface. The ripples and streaks she mentions are due to applying too much paint and as the ripples take longer to dry, the reflection is not going to dry bright and even. This is a fun and time saving product, but you have to clean the glass very well, and spray in light coats with flash drying time in between. When sprayed in proper light coats, shaking the can between each coat, the paint dries in a few seconds, "flashing off" and ready for the next pass. My purpose in posting this information is not to knock her review I enjoyed watching, but instead include my observations so that she and others get some added information to apply in using this product for the best results.

Wow! You saved my time.. After watching this video, I went to the market and bought a new mirror, thank you!

The reason you got these effects is because that's not how you use a can of spray paint. You don't just hold the trigger and go over the whole thing without stopping. You use a sweeping motion from one end to the other. Press the trigger on to the side of the piece, travel across to the other and let go. Then from the other end back. All these videos of people doing it like this are driving me nuts like what world did you grow up in where people use spray paint this way. On top of that you didn't do solid coats on every coat. It looks like with every coat you used less paint with the last coat just being a little spritz of the back. Should have been solid even coats each time. The ripples and cracking are purely user error

Excellent details. Thanks. Especially good of you to include temperature & humidity & possible lack of perfect cleaning as a factor in the quality of the finished product. Thanks for your excellent work.

When applied properly, the rustoleum effect is extremely nice! Clean glass properly. Use VERY thin coats. 1st coat should be no more then a good dusting. You also dont need 5 coats. Let it flash off between coats, and check the effect. 3 or 4 coats is usually plenty. And in my experience provides a "brighter" effect. For better adhesion use a bonding agent on the glass 1st. (Like createx bond all.) Then for durability, clear coat with a matte clear when finished.

Best structured review/comparison I've seen so far. And I'm like a dozen in

Thank you for getting right to it, and not boring us with inconsequential preamble that lasts 2/3 of the video

This was a good demo, to the point, no unnecessary chatter and no music. Many thanks! I think glass was not cleaned in a technical way. I think it first needs a vinegar coating, let sit for an hour, then soap off. Dry. Clean with alcohol and lint free cloth. Dust off with compressed air. Glass should be Clean Room clean, no dust or anything. Spray was too thick, too close. Should be a fine, even spray from a foot away. # of coats is correct. I think this will resolve the ripple or crackle effect. Both should work fine, but I like the Rustoleum better for clarity and price. The Krylon has a very fine nozzle which is very nice. I wonder if Montana Gold makes mirror paint. That would be excellent like all their products. Good demo, much appreciated!

If you paint the glass with flat black spray paint when you are done it gives you mirror a more opaque look. Just FYI

Thank you for yhe video!! So glad I already purchased Rustoleum!!😊

Very helpful. Thanks a bunch!

Straight to the point. Bravo!

OK...The Can says "mirror effect". It doesn't mean a perfect mirror finish. That's almost impossible from a spray paint.

Wow!! I wished I should've watched this vid before i did my jar. I thought I did something wrong when I used the looking glass krylon. Thanks.

So glad you were intelligent enough to realize it is supposed to be for glass. I've seen people on Amazon reviews before talking about how they sprayed their fireplaces with it and got a dull grey look. If they read the can, they would know it is for glass or other smooth, transparent surfaces.

Thank you for this video! I know its an old post, but its very helpful for a project I'll be attempting soon

I'm looking for something to touch up an old motorcycle. These two products far exceed anything I could have imagined. Thanks for making the video and bringing them to my attention. I was looking at some other videos and I think where they went wrong was only testing "chrome" spray paint instead of the "mirror" spray paint as you tested.

That's awesome! I have an old antique, full length mirror that almost all the silver has worn off. To the point of if you didn't know it was a mirror, you wouldn't know it was a mirror. I'm gonna try this one day/weekend when I have time to take it all apart & clean the existing silver off. I think the crackle effect would bring this old mirror back to life. I've kept this thing for over 30 years just because the woodworking is just so beautiful to me. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks for doing this. I agree alcohol cleans better and the streaking and hazing may be on the side that wasnt cleaned

👍 - cool comparison. Any chance to do a candy, then the chrome finish?

I find your voice soothing.

Could it be used as two way mirror (as needed in infinity mirrors) if using just one layer of paint? I think best ratio would be around 85-90% for reflection and letting rest to go through...

both brands work great for that "aged, antique-look" if you want to fake a mirror :) or if you are trying to fake mercury glass...it does the job quite well

Thank you for the exhibition

For this effect, don't you need a glossy black coat before? Can I use this paint on 3D printing plastic?

I read somewhere that spray painting over the mirror paint with a black paint will help. Don't know if it does as I have not tried that, as yet.

Thank you from Haiti.

HERO!. I needed this

Thank you for sharing. I’m looking to use this on a Halloween prop knife. Thanks!

Good honest description and test ....

If the dried paint got scratched, is it gonna ripped off?

Please help! I used too much of the mirror effect and this resulted in only a tiny bit of reflection. I need something high gloss. What can I do now? Have you also tried the high gloss silver spray by Rustoleum?

Dope paint never seen this

Does this work on polycarbonate? Intead of using glass, using polycarbonate?

Thank you it was very helpful

I tried them both before I did not compare them but was not really satisfied with the results I sprayed 1/16 inch thick plexiglass to make up carnival mirrors short & fat along with tall & thin and trying to put concave curve to see what happens ... Was interesting but just not what I expected...

Will any of these work well on the inside of headlights to make it more reflective again?

Will this work on my hubcaps?

Well done excellent 👍

Fr ty for this video

Is that work on my bike's metal Please let me know?

Thanks for this. You have an ear pleasing voice as well.

THUMBS UP for crazy wait dances. And did you clean both sides of the glass?

Cara ordernya untuk membeli ada toko shoppe kah

krylon premium metallic chrome lost its chrome appearance after i applied clear coat to it

Can I spray paint a guitar with this?

Will it work on broken glasses?

Are these the only two mirror spray paints out there?

I like the old crackly one..

Late to the party, but could I use plexi glass? Would if still have the same effect? I’m trying to make a demo mirror for my art class to use so the kids can see me. The ones I’ve found online cost an arm and a leg. 😭 Would this work? Would it be better to use glass? I’m just trying to find other options out there!

can i make a one way mirror out of it

Pretty amazing considering that it’s spray paint. 20 years ago we’d all been amazed!

Kaptain Krylon used to huff it in a Wonder Bread bag.

Lol thanks for making this video so I didn’t have to wing it!!!

Thank you

Is there any distributor in pakistan?

Sick moves

Perhaps try another experiment with clean glass?

Awesome

I like the way you make this video, specially the way you dance

Question.... Did you happen to notice if they gave mirror finishes to both sides of the glass... I need a double mirror finish, and I'd rather not have to treat both sides.... Going to go back and watch the reveal again the see if I can tell...

I like the way you dance 😆 My question is who's the best for my mirror ?

Every time you sprayed it was in a different direction and they were all done improperly giving you overspray on every coat. Unless you spray everything in the proper direction and spray in the proper direction each time you're not going to get a good result

For anyone wondering, I tried to apply the Rustoleum one on a transparent plastic bin following the instructions and didn't get good results. I couldn't find an alternative for plastic or any comment by anyone who tried it before.

I would like to try this paint on my dresser do u think it'll have the same effect or look more like silver

This is the voice you hear right before you go under Anesthesia

It streaked because you doused on the spray paint,you didnt spray in even coating,it had nothing to do with the glass cleaner.if you would of sprayed on plastic or metal in that way you would have had gloppy runs everywhere.

Do we have to apply primer before spraying?

I wonder if this comes in black.. i need to paint my motorcycle

Try cleaning with just Dish soap & water Using a paper towel to dry it completely using cleaners usually leaves coating on the glass, Not to mention it's a spray out of a can so might leave a mirror effect but not your perfect mirror,

Thanks for this,I tried using this product to achieve a metal or glass effect with wooden dresser but it keeps cleaning off

Can you paint this stuff on wood ?

The temperature is too low for spray paint. Ambient is good when the item is slightly warmer above 90 Degree F.

I need this from nepal

Está bien el intento de mostrar la comparación, pero la técnica de pintado con aerosol es muy mala. Lo que impacta en el resultado.

You’ll get a mirror finish if you put a final coat of black paint over the Mirror paint.

I have tried both. Rust Oleum is so much better.

I love the dancing lol cute

Ok but which one is more durable, resistable - Rust-oleum or Krylon? I mean resistable against scratches and so on.

Flat spray nozzle on krylon and round nozzle on rustoleum.

Alas, you did't clean the glass properly.

Super.👏👏👍🇮🇳

I like dancing

Your cardboard looks rippled. If the spray wasn’t applied thick enough, maybe you could’ve been looking THROUGH the glass, and at the rippled cardboard. Also, you may need to use a different cleaner for the glass, and make sure to not leave any streaks on it BEFORE applying the mirror paint. Nice idea though. Thanks for sharing!

Interesting video, but I have a concern that there's a bias with the way you apply the spray paint. You're doing a much better job on the Rustoleum side with your coats.

maybe results would be different if you'd have apply it CORRECTLY

i'm sorry to be negative, but you really spray the paint on too thick - you need to do several light coats and then when it's dry use a buffing compound or silver scratch remover. you've really misrepresented both those paint brands.

Try cleaning the glass in a dishwasher... it’ll come out squeaky clean

try to find the ASMR

I got the same result in my video

ماشاء الله تبارك الله

Thank you for doing this. I certainly changed my mind on one of them =^o^=

Good video, but may I make a small suggestion? Either take a drink of something hydrating before you record, or hold your microphone farther from your mouth. There is a sticky mouth sound that’s coming through distractingly strong.

Not a big fan of RustOleum. Drying time is much tooooo long. I haven't found that the durability is anything to brag about either.

Do a favour for yourself ,, those mirror paints need a solid white back .. Spray a couple layers gloss white on top of the 5 layers of mirror .. then flip it over and see the difference .. :)

I'm a little late to the party, but I can tell you exactly why it's not working perfectly. I come from a modeling aspect, scale models that is. Lots of experience painting with different types of paints. Problem 1. Acrylic paint dries too fast to level properly, a longer drying time equals better leveling and a nicer finish. Problem 2. There are no true mirror finishes when it comes to painting. Only actual chrome will look exactly like chrome or mirrors. Trust me, modelers have been looking for the holy grail of chrome paints since the beginning of model making. But, your results are some of the finest I have ever seen. The only other product I've seen that is worth the price are...C-1 Metalizer (It's a powder) 2. Molotow Liquid Chrome. And yes, I know you are looking for a mirror effect and not chrome. But they are the same thing in the painting world.

I would not paint an object that is flat on a surface. stand it up so the can is upright.

Maybe too many coats?!

1:25 Yes, you didn't clean the glass very well.

95% of a paint job is prepping.