Previous homeowner used liqued nails to glue mirrors on a painted plaster wall. The only way I know to remove them is to smash them with hammer and pick up the pieces. This is messy and very dangerous. Any suggestions?

Well, it seems to me that any way you do it,
you're going to have broken glass and a wall
with gouges and glue globs on it.

I'd start by getting some inexpensive
adhesive backed plastic shelf "paper".
Clean the glass well, and cover it with that
stuff to contain the fragments. Rather than
starting with the hammer, I'd try getting
behind the mirror with a putty knife and
prying it outward. While the putty knife
is applying some stress to the glass, if
it reaches a point where you can't go any
farther, then break the glass with the
hammer. But -- I know this sounds wierd --
do it as gently as you can. You just want
to get rid of part of it, so you can get
access to more of it. That should minimize
damage to the underlying wall. Tap gently,
then a little harder, and harder still,
until you find the right amount of impact
to just break the glass.

Of course, wear safety glasses, better yet,
a full face mask, long sleeves, gloves, use
your best judgement.

Another thing to look into is whether any
kind of solvent will help with the old glue.
Try water, isopropyl alchohol, paint thinner,
denatured alchohol, maybe even acetone. But
with the limited access to the glue, this is
more of a long shot.

Hope this helps....

-- J.S.

Well, it seems to me that any way you do it,
you're going to have broken glass and a wall
with gouges and glue globs on it.

I'd start by getting some inexpensive
adhesive backed plastic shelf "paper".
Clean the glass well, and cover it with that
stuff to contain the fragments. Rather than
starting with the hammer, I'd try getting
behind the mirror with a putty knife and
prying it outward. While the putty knife
is applying some stress to the glass, if
it reaches a point where you can't go any
farther, then break the glass with the
hammer. But -- I know this sounds wierd --
do it as gently as you can. You just want
to get rid of part of it, so you can get
access to more of it. That should minimize
damage to the underlying wall. Tap gently,
then a little harder, and harder still,
until you find the right amount of impact
to just break the glass.

Of course, wear safety glasses, better yet,
a full face mask, long sleeves, gloves, use
your best judgement.

Another thing to look into is whether any
kind of solvent will help with the old glue.
Try water, isopropyl alchohol, paint thinner,
denatured alchohol, maybe even acetone. But
with the limited access to the glue, this is
more of a long shot.

Hope this helps....

-- J.S.