How to Make a Mirrored Disco Ball
If you loved the days of John Travolta and disco balls, why not make one for a room in your home. Purchasing the disco balls can be quite expensive, if you can find them at all, but when you make your own, it looks authentic but saves you a bundle.
A disco ball, in case you were just a baby in those years, is a giant ball, suspended from the ceiling, and covered in small mirror pieces. The ball turns round and round, causing the light from the mirrors to bounce all over the room. Although this article won’t cover the wiring and hardware needed to make the ball spin, you will find everything at a home improvement store to do just that.
To make the disco ball, start with a child’s bouncing ball – a huge one. Do not opt for balls that are blown up, such as beach balls, since this type of ball will not hold the weight of the mirrors. Since round balls and square mirror tiles will not align completely perfect, there’s a few things you’ll have to do to the ball to get it ready for the mirrors.
First of all, purchase a small amount of silver paint – the type that will adhere to plastic. Some of these paints are available in a spray-type dispenser that will make it much easier than trying to paint the ball with a brush. Position the ball on a large pan, covered in newspaper, then spray. When dry, turn the ball to where the unpainted spot shows and paint it as well.
When the spray paint is dry add a second coat of paint, this time, silver glitter paint. The glitter paint can be dabbed on with a foam brush but try to get it as smooth as possible. You may need more than one coat of the paint to cover the ball completely. The glitter paint allows the ball to look completely covered by mirrors, even though there will be slivers where the mirrors will not align completely.
Go to a large craft store to find just the right mirrors. They sell the tiny mirror pieces in bags of a certain quantity, depending upon their size. Purchase bags of tiny squares only. Other shapes will not work as well.
One way to make sure you get the mirrors aligned correctly is to use a string dipped in a small amount of paint. Use gloves and wrap the string around the ball, from top to bottom, making sure the string remains taut and aligned. This line will give you your starting point for the mirrors.
Start at the top of the ball and attach one mirror piece. Use contact cement for best results, and continue adding the next and the next piece, following the guide line. Allow each line of mirrors to dry completely before moving on to the next line. Once your first row of mirror pieces are attached, you’ll just follow the same pattern, butting each row of mirrors up against the previous row, working vertically.
When you get to the sides of the ball you’ll have a little trouble getting the mirrors to align properly. Get them as close together as you possibly can without offsetting the pattern. It’s better to have slivers of silver glitter paint showing in between some of the tiles than to have the pattern suddenly go astray.
Hardware similar to that which is used to hang a swag will work for hanging the giant disco ball. If your hardware store doesn’t carry the mechanism to make the ball spin, they can order it for you, so just ask. You’ll love your new disco ball and so will everyone who sees it. It’s sparkly, it’s gigantic, it’s beautiful.
