LuxeRestorations: The General Electric Make-up Mirror

So, I've shown and mentioned before, that one of my biggest hobbies is finding vintage pieces that need a little love to bring them back to life. Case in point, this 1950's General Electric Lighted Make-Up Mirror.

I paid a whole $3.88 for it, not even knowing if it still lit up or not. (Spoiler alert: it does!)
Boy was it in bad shape. Look at those layers of grime. Even the girl at the register thought I was crazy for buying it.

(Forgive the bright photos, I cleaned it up in my bathroom)



For this restoration, all I used is some cleaning spray called Tuff Stuff, which can be purchased at Family Dollar. I think the can was $3.50.

Spray it on and let it sit. I left it for 20 mins and played some games on facebook.

Since its detail work and small crevices, I used my cleaning toothbrush. If you dont have an old toothbrush in your cleaning supplies, I recommend it highly. Especially for me when I'm doing a restoration, it helps for cleaning out the grimy bits. Just keep it away from the brush you use on your teeth. Also, since I did this clean up in my bathroom, I moved away any toothbrushes, hair brushes, make-up, etc so it wouldnt get grime or cleaning solution on it. I also recommend using tough stuff in a ventilated area, since it stinks and inhaling cleaners is detrimental to your health

Here it is after the first round of spray and scrub:

Better, but not quite there.

After another round and cleaning the mirror with some windex, I plugged it in and voila!

It could probably use a little more work, but overall its cleaned up and looks great in my bathroom! The slider on the bottom adjusts the lighting to different environmental situations.

I saw this same mirror at Savers for $15. Sure that one was all cleaned up, but for an $11 savings I did it myself. (used that savings to buy fabric :/. Dont judge me!)