190E (W201) interior door panel - what glue to use?
 

Hello all,

I've been following this forum for the past year (since Sept 2000) and this is definitely the best source of MB information ever. (I especially liked the MB vs anything else threads...)

Anyway, would like to seek advise on the following:

the interior door panel (rear left passenger side) for the 190E is held together by some sort of GLUE. In tropical countries like Singapore, the glue gives up after a while, and the plastic clip starts rattling. I tried 3M adhesive tape, but it doesn't hold that well.

Any recommendations on what other type of glue to use in order to get the plastic clip back onto the panel? I'm fairly competent with removing the panel and putting it back.

Thanks in advance for any pointers... :)

On my 190E I had the same problem.

I removed the door panel and used 3M Super 33 spray contact glue. You need to make sure there is no dirt or old clumps of glue under the door panel material.

Apply the glue to both the underside of the vinyl and the door panel itself. Let the glue dry before bringing the two surfaces in contact with each other.

I also use a hair dryer to heat up the vinyl so it can be stretched back into place. On my door panels, not only did the glue give out, but the vinyl shrunk, so the hair dryer helped me to re-stretch the vinyl.

I also used some c-clamps on the very edge of the door panels to hold the vinyl in placed so the glue could cure and the vinyl could cool down.

So far it has held up well.

I agree...I've done several interiors using 3M contact adhesive and it works great. Kinda messy to work with if doing it for the first time though.

Another product upholstery professionals use is called "Liquid Nails"...don't remember where to get the stuff, but it is also a solid product.

I have the same problem reported by 2phast - shrinking vinyl on a 190E door panel. Please explain the process of re-gluing in a little more detail regarding heating with the hair dryer or heat gun. Does one apply the glue, let it dry, and then heat up the vinyl?

Bringing up an old thread to find out what others have found to be the best solution to this issue.