General Rear view mirror

[FarNorthPanda]

The rear view mirror on the Panda has always been stiff to adjust - and since Mrs FarNorthPanda and myself use the car, the mirror needs adjusted every time the driver changes.

Yesterday, mirror was very stiff to move, and when I applied some gentle (honest !) force the whole fitting came away in my hand - the glue joint between the windscreen and the mirror fitting had failed.

I cleaned the glue residue from the fitting and the windscreen and went to our local windscreen depot where the fitter put some magic glue on the fitting and stuck it back on the windscreen. He said to leave it for a day to cure, and then I could trim off any excess glue and slide the mirror back onto the fitting. I did as suggested, and all is back in place and working.

The car is 14 years old, so perhaps the glue degrades over time, particularly as car sits facing into the sun for most of the time when parked in our drive. When I cleaned up the glue residue, I tried various solvents, including WD40 and Carb clean, but the only one that worked was Methylated Spirits.

The interior mirror pivots on a metal ball in a plastic moulding, and I have from time to time tried to make the fitting less stiff by using a little aerosol grease, but it only works for a little while and then it stiffens up again.

 

[A3jeroen]

Peanutbutter works great for removing glueresidue.
Teflonspray would be my choice for the joint.

gr J

 

[koalar]

Lighter fuel ???

 

[jrkitching]

Lighter fuel ???

Hydrocarbons are generally not good to use on anything plastic.


My choice would be silicone grease (RS components sell it mail order for a reasonable delivered price) or, as previously suggested, teflon spray (LIDL have the latter on sale from time to time; grab a couple of cans if you get the chance);

 

[FarNorthPanda]

Hydrocarbons are generally not good to use on anything plastic.


My choice would be silicone grease (RS components sell it mail order for a reasonable delivered price) or, as previously suggested, teflon spray (LIDL have the latter on sale from time to time; grab a couple of cans if you get the chance);

Thanks. I have an aersol can of Silicon lubricant, and an aersol can of Lidl PTFE spray, so I will try those to keep the ball joint on the mirror free moving

 

[Txuchin]

It is easier to buy an Alfa mirror or a Fiat group car and change it for the same price of glue or lubricant, in a scrapyard.
Also the mirror will be wider and the vision will be much better.
I could give you one of Panda's but I guess shipping to the UK will cost more than its own mirror

 

[FarNorthPanda]

UPDATE

2 days after the windscreen fitter glued the mirror button back on to the windscreen I came out to the Panda and found the mirror lying on the floor - the glue joint between the windscreen and the fitting had failed.

The windscreen company did not take any payment for the work, so I felt I could hardly go back to them and complain, and I decided to try to refix the mirror myself

A search on the internet showed that failure of the glue joint seems to be quite common, and ebay and Amazon both list adhesives that are claimed to be specific for this work. A lot of the brands were names I had never heard of, but the well known brand Loctite 319 seemed to be widely available in shops and on the internet, so I got a pack from local Halfords for £6.

The reviews of Loctite 319 online were very mixed. 50% of users said it was great stuff, but you had to be careful to follow the instructions. The other 50% said that even if you did follow the instructions it was useless and either did not stick, or fell off soon after fixing.

Having tried it, I can confirm that both opinions are quite correct.

These glass / metal adhesives are all 2-part chemicals - a glue and an activator. Loctite 319 is a little unusual in that the glue is liquid, but the activator is a plastic mesh. The glue is applied to the metal button, and the mesh is then laid on to the glue and pressed down to become saturated. This starts the activation process, and you have to be fairly quick to fix the metal button to the windscreen. It is important to place the button accurately as it bonds to the screen almost immediatley.

I followed the instruction to the letter, and after letting it cure for several hours longer than the specified time, tried sliding the mirror fitting on to the metal button - it fell off the screen at once.

I cleaned everything thoroughly and tried again - there is just enough glue and activator mesh to allow for 2 applications. I think the crucial point with this adhesive is to make sure the mesh is thoroughly saturated by the glue. I refixed the metal button to the screen and again it seemed to bond instantly.


I left it overnight, then slide the mirror fitting on to the button - it fitted and stayed in place. That was a week ago, and so far it has survived myself and Mrs FarNorthPanda regularly moving the mirror

 

[DaveMcT]

I used a double sided adhesive pad sold for car mirrors. It's not exactly foam in the middle but its quite soft. The mirror is still there some years later.

 

[jrkitching]

it fell off the screen at once

The professionals have problems with this too.

I had a replacement 'screen fitted by Autoglass a few years ago and exactly the same thing happened; it didn't even make it out of their car park. They refixed it on the spot, and it's been fine since.

Adhesives are used quite extensively on modern cars; much of what used to be screwed is now stuck. I'm old fashioned and not a great fan; most of the cars produced in the past 50 years have bonded rear view mirrors and I've had my fair share of failures.

The key (pardon the pun) to getting a lasting result is, as is usually the case, careful preparation. Removing the old adhesive generally needs to be thorough, and getting rid of any moisture is usually important also (but confusingly some modern adhesives actually require moisture to cure completely). One good way to remove any residual contamination is to wipe down with acetone just before assembling the joint; it dries in no time and will mop up any residual water. You do need the pure stuff, though - don't just borrow your lady's nail varnish remover as it contains a bunch of moisturising oils which you definitely don't want.

The thing to avoid at all costs is silicone; even a minute quantity on the surface of either part will likely make bonding impossible. Same goes for painting; bodyshops are meticulous about banning anything containing silicone from coming anywhere near the place; it's about as wecome as a naked flame in a coal mine.