Replacing adhesive on plastic disks

[GuyOxford]

I'm having issues with my disks sticking. Has anyone found a solution to this. Is there an adhesive that anyone can recommend that is unlikely to cause any damage to the dashboard? Perhaps a rubber based glue.

 

[dhn]

Many resort to purchasing one of the beanbag mounts for their devices. They do hold and can be removed from eyesight quite easily

 

[canderson]

I'm having issues with my disks sticking. Has anyone found a solution to this. Is there an adhesive that anyone can recommend that is unlikely to cause any damage to the dashboard? Perhaps a rubber based glue.

Precisely that. Although there no guarantees, I've found RTV (silicone seal) material to work very well in such applications. You need something that will not soften with heat, will not become brittle with cold, can ignore the difference in coefficient of expansion of the materials on each side due to its flexibility, and something that can handle the many jolts and bumps in a vehicle. If it adheres to the materials in question, RTV is hard to beat for all of the above.

As always, try a little blurp of it somewhere that isn't going to offend to assure that there aren't any major issues.

 

[cccsdad]

What problem are you having?

 

[Andy_P]

I always use a double-sided tape with a sponge middle layer for this sort of thing. (a bit like carpet tape, but better)

 

[canderson]

I always use a double-sided tape with a sponge middle layer for this sort of thing. (a bit like carpet tape, but better)

As car interiors can approach 160?F here in the summer (that'd be 71?C over there), many of the self-adhesive stuff tends to get a bit sloppy in the summer, especially when you start pulling on it with just a bit of weight. How's it hold up on your end in hotter climates? I find the ones that actually hold up also may tend to mar the surface of plastics a bit.

 

[Andy_P]

I've not had any problems so far, but it doesn't get ridiculously hot here.

How about the pads they sell for fixing rear-view mirrors to windscreens? They should be up to the job.

Plus use a decent glue removing solvent if you want to remove it, rather then just scraping and pulling.

(I'm currently pretty "high" after using my bottle of solvent to get chewing gum off my daughter's school skirt!:hippie

 

[canderson]

How about the pads they sell for fixing rear-view mirrors to windscreens? They should be up to the job.)

Yikes. I wouldn't put the adhesive for one of those on a dash or trim. Probably melt right through it. We are talking about mounting to plastic and not to a windshield, aren't we?

 

[Andy_P]

Are they really vicious then? It was only a thought.. I was trying to think of a sticky pad sold in car shops, so they would be OK in heat and cold. (and I didn't mean the glue stuff that comes in a bottle!)

I'm not sure where the stuff I use comes from, we used to get rolls of it at work... .

Do you have 3M "Command strip" products over there?

3M Select : The Official 3M UK Online Store

Those are pretty strong, but have a tab to release them when you want to remove them that seems to do it without damaging the surfaces.

 

[canderson]

We have the Command brand here, but I never see the 'refills' anywhere in a retail store. All I ever see are the hooks with the strips already affixed. Amazon seems to be the only place to buy the 'refills'. Might have to order some to play with them, but I've never seen 3M provide any details about how much these should hold. The old Scotch Mount squares never impressed me.

Command™ - All Products

 

[Andy_P]

On that 3Ms webpage I linked to, I just noticed at the bottom there are links to an enormous range of double sided tapes! 3M Select - Double Sided, Foam & VHB Tapes

 

[canderson]

On that 3Ms webpage I linked to, I just noticed at the bottom there are links to an enormous range of double sided tapes! 3M Select - Double Sided, Foam & VHB Tapes

I've used a couple of the thinner VHB tapes extensively - not for anything for which it's designed, mind you, but have had very good success with that in a number of applications. The stuff is incredibly sticky providing you have a clean surface to work with. If you need just a little 'gap filling' help on a surface that isn't entirely flat (like mounting a circuit with components on both sides someplace on a case where it wasn't meant to go), the thicker versions do very well at that, too.

 

[Andy_P]

Should this topic be made a "sticky"?

:banplease:

 

[GuyOxford]

Precisely that. Although there no guarantees, I've found RTV (silicone seal) material to work very well in such applications. You need something that will not soften with heat, will not become brittle with cold, can ignore the difference in coefficient of expansion of the materials on each side due to its flexibility, and something that can handle the many jolts and bumps in a vehicle. If it adheres to the materials in question, RTV is hard to beat for all of the above.

As always, try a little blurp of it somewhere that isn't going to offend to assure that there aren't any major issues.

Thanks, I did what you said and, one week later, all is good. I'm not sure what, if any, solvent I will use when I decide to remove the disk but, then again, I will probably just leave it where it is even when I come to sell the car.

Thanks again.

 

[canderson]

I'm not sure what, if any, solvent I will use when I decide to remove the disk ...

It shouldn't require a solvent to remove it from the dash plastic. Separating the disk from the dash with a butter knife (anything that's flat but not sharp) will expose the RTV, and you can pull and pick it off with your fingers. That's one of the interesting things about RTV - it doesn't respond to very many solvents. The ones that will even soften it would eat right through your dash plastic. Don't go there!

 

[johnling]

I'm having issues with my disks sticking. Has anyone found a solution to this. Is there an adhesive that anyone can recommend that is unlikely to cause any damage to the dashboard? Perhaps a rubber based glue.

Suction Pad Dash Mount for Garmin Magellan TomTom Mio Nextar LG Plenio ViaMichelin Navman GPS

Universal GPS Dashboard Adhesive Disc Mount - RadioShack.com

I buy these as they are cheaper than just the tape backing.
Amazon.com: TomTom - Adhesive disk (pack of 2 ): Electronics