large aperture, beryllium substrate-based mirrors have been used to focus high intensity pulsed laser beams. finished surfaces have high reflectivity, low wavefront distortion, and high laser damage thresholds. this paper describes the development of a series of metallic coatings, surface finishing techniques, and dielectric overcoatings to meet specified performance requirements. beryllium substrates were coated with copper, diamond-machined to within 5 micro-inches to final contour, nickel plated, and abrasively figured to final contour. bond strengths for several bonding processes are presented. dielectric overcoatings were deposited on finished multimetallic substrates to increase both reflectivity and the damage thresholds. coatings were deposited using both high and low temperature processes which induce varying stresses in the finished coating substrate system. data are presented to show the evolution of wavefront distortion, reflectivity, and damage thresholds throughout the many steps involved in fabrication. (era citation 02:007471)