Daughters rear view mirror detached itself from the windscreen.
I got a double sided sticky pad ( and a spare) from a motor factors, took the old pad off and, in a huury, thought I had restored things to normal.
No so !!!. A call to say it lasted just a couple of miles :-((
I will admit to not cleaning the screen.
Is this where I went wrong ( or a poor sticky pad) ?
For attempt two what is the best cleaner for the screen and mirror base?
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Don't try and DIY.
Local windscreen replacement centre will have the proper glue.
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SFAIK Halfords sell a special glue for this purpose
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Pads work fine
Clean the residue of the old pad off the mirror and screen (white spirit works fine).
Let residual white spirit evaporate.
Re-fit mirror.
As with ANY adhesive, preparation and cleanliness is of utmost importance.
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Local windscreen replacement centre will have the proper glue.
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When my screen was replaced and replaced again they used pads.
When I went to the depot they tore a few pads off from a roll.
The Yaris has a very heavy twin ball mirror which does not help.
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Best to clean with either meths or isopropal alcohol, white spirit leaves a deposit. Regards Peter
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My daughter's Astra kept losing it's mirror. I had stocks of sticky pads but they never lasted, I cleaned the screen with all types of rubbing alcohols, proprietory glass cleaners, vinegar, lemon juice etc. etc. but the dratted things wouldn't stay put.
Eventually I went to the devil's autostore (Halfords) and they supplied a kit which had a tube of adhesive and a small piece of gauze which went between the mirror and the screen and which bonded with the adhesive to form a secure fix. It's been there 2 years now but I can't remember the name of the product.
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i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/loctite....g
£3.99
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That's £3.99 more than I paid at the windscreen outfit.
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That's £3.99 more than I paid at the windscreen outfit.
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so you didnt even give the fitter a sniff of your hip flask?
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That's the stuff. Use this once and you'll never look back!
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And of course, you won't be able to put the instructions down.
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While we're on the subject:
i have stick-on blind spot mirrors and in weather like we have experienced recently - ie hot sun (35deg C plus some days) they just fall off, no matter what I use to stick them - pads, double-sided tape, superglue, etc - and how careful I am with cleanliness.
Any ideas?
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Did everyone miss this reply from Stackman, or are you all ignoring it?
"That's the stuff. Use this once and you'll never look back!"
Rear view mirror - Never look back, gedit?
I'll get my coat, (as someone else here says).
John R
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Did everyone miss this reply from Stackman or are you all ignoring it? "That's the stuff. Use this once and you'll never look back!" Rear view mirror - Never look back gedit?
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I did not miss the reply.
The only mirror that has ever fallen off from all the cars I have owned ( I keep them til they rot) in the whole of my 40+ years of motoring is the Yaris and that was GLUED on ( til now).
Glad you have got your coat :-)
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>>Use this once and you'll never look back! >>
But that's precisely what you want to do...:-)
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Best to clean with either meths or isopropal alcohol white spirit leaves a deposit. Regards Peter
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Meths. Correct. White spirit no good.
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Ford dealers sell the pads for less than £0.50 (36p last time I checked). Part number 1568648.
Make sure the screen and mirror are clean and flat (use some meths to remove old residue).
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Make sure the screen and mirror are clean and flat (use some meths to remove old residue).
Also..... put the heater on demist at hot setting...I have always found the pads stick better on a warm screen!
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Thanks to all for your advice.
I tried cleaning the screen and turning on the heater etc. The result was the mirror migrated to the footwell.
At least the pads were cheap 50p ( motor factor is local, Ford spares is not.)
Halfords want £5.50 for two pads in a nice little packet :-((
I called in a local Autoglass depot for advice.
For the Yaris, the mirror is glued on ( with the correct glue). Do not use superglue as the windscreen will crack ( IIRC that advice was geven here a while back.)
I have since noted a gray finish on the back of the black mirror stalk base which must be the old glue.
So rather than hunt for the correct glue I will see the lads tomorrow and get them to do it.
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>>Halfords want £5.50 for two pads in a nice little packet :-((>>
Perhaps the second one is to cover for the first one not working? (!)
Halfords wanted £2.99 for a continental type car fuse in a retail pack; I eventually bought one at the local VW dealer for 54p (and I thought that was dear!)
Edited by Stuartli on 07/09/2009 at 19:51
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I did receive one good piece of advice from a windscreen fitter; do NOT under any circumstances use superglue.
It seems that although the glass expands when the sun's on it, the glue doesn't and you risk cracking your windscreen. Don't know the science on this but I'm sure NC will be along soon to tell us whether my received wisdom was right or not!
Edit; just seen that I've repeated the advice given above, but would still like to read te explanation.
Edited by Harleyman on 07/09/2009 at 20:54
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I did receive one good piece of advice from a windscreen fitter; do NOT under any circumstances use superglue.
In my youth the damm mirrors were always falling off the windscreens, we were poor and whatever should have been used was expensive, so we always used to superglue them on. I don't remember any cracking, but perhaps modern windscreens are of a different construction.
My superglue is now reserved for use on clutch plates, prior to fitting. :-)
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received wisdom was right or not!
Right message, but wrong logic I'm afraid!
The glass is much more thermally stable than the metal, the co-efficient of thermal expansion of metals is two to three orders of magnitude larger!
In most calculations used to stress joints like this under thermal loading, you get very close to the right answer by simply assuming the glass doesn't expand at all when heated.
You will get away with superglue as long as you make sure the glue line is thick enough. This is the purpose of the gauze which comes with the kit from Halfords - it prevents the glue line being made too thin.
In the absence of the supplied gauze, I would make sure the glue line is not much thinner than about 0.5mm.
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The mirror in my Escort fell off. I replaced it with an inferior but adequate cheap sucker job. It falls off in direct sunlight if the car is parked and has to be stuck on again with its wobbly plastic mechanism.
I ought to use some glue but up to now have always cursed a bit and used saliva.
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Thanks for that NC; always nice to know if some of these things have any basis in fact!
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In my experience pads from factors do not work,pads from glass fitters do.If really desperate mirrors can be stuck on with silicone sealant,as long as you are prepared to hold it in place until it goes off,take a book to read whilst holding mirror.
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To conclude ( I hope) the mirror was glued back on by a helpful guy at the glass fitters using a spray on Loctite product plus activator.
No charge but I insisted he accept funds for a beer or buy something for the kids thus the two of us were happy.
It has survived a 30 mile round trip in the heat and traffic of Londons West End.
If it migrates the the footwell again I will let you know.
The mirror assembly weighed a mighty 12 ounces ! ( I will get my anorak )
Thanks again for all the info.
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