It's really brute force, but maybe you can hack it to use Windows calls with a driver/shim of some sort.
Don't ask me how though. :-/
It sounds like you've come across one of those [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=25831|transparent aluminum mirror] problems. :-(
But you enjoy a challenge, right? >:-)
Luck!
Cheers,
Scott.