Just went outside, and noticed my 85 300D's driver side mirror lying in driveway. It must have fallen off when I closed the door

As you can see, it has come away from the plastic frame.

Anyone done a repair? Not sure whether I should scrape off the yellow adhesive/tape from back first.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Double sided sticky tape.

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"

Genuine Scotch VHB tape is some amazing stuff. Don't get the Chinese knockoff stuff.

Proper surface preparation is key.

Also it is pressure sensitive, it requires steady firm pressure to bond for about 30 seconds.

And then "That's not going anyweayah" <- Norm from the PBS Yankee Workshop

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Have you done it yourself?

Questions:

Did you remove the original adhesive backing first?
If so, any tips on how to best remove it?

Regarding two sided tapes. What type?

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Jay_Bob,

I have used the 3M VHB tape before, but problem is getting it in small quantities. At that time, I did end up buying it from Hong Kong. It said it was 3M, but of course China is well known for using brand names. In this case, it however looked like vendor bought large rolls of wider 3M tape, slit it to width and sold small quantities on eBay. At a good profit, no doubt!

Anyway it did work on my boat windows, so I used same method tonight, except tape was from Lowes, I think. I used strips just around perimeter, then used Dow Corning 795 in the center area. They use this for glazing in hi-rises and it sticks to many substrates. In other words, a belts and braces solution

Job is now done except for re-install on car.

For anyone doing same job, Goof-Off will take off the adhesive on back of mirror (it is not a tape). A razor blade scraper then works well. Final clean up with mineral spirits. This leaves a smooth white surface. I scuffed it up a bit with sandpaper to prep for tape/adhesive. Did same to plastic frame. There was almost no residue on the black plastic - that 1985 adhesive didn't seem to like vinyl or whatever the plastic is.

If mirror falls off, I will be back

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5