adhesive for dash parts
 

Can anyone give me the right way to reattach those "mahogany"
wood dash parts that have fallen off.
And are now in the glove box. ?
Thanks very much.
I know there has to be a right way to do this and they will stay on there for another 18 years.
Thanks much,
Pat
1984 300D 145K

A variety of adhesives will work. I've used 3M emblem and trim adhesive. The trick is to clamp everything overnight (or tape it down using that blue painter's tape), and make sure the surfaces are clean. Also avoid getting any adhesive on the dash; it's a pain to remove. Read labels to make sure the surface is warm enough. (As I type this it is 25 deg F...) I suspect that the twin-tube epoxy would work well also. Hope this helps, Bob

I have used a baseball bat and a tennis racket
between the wood dash piece and the seat, properly adjusted of course, to hold the pieces into place. I had a guy at a cabinet shop suggest using a hot melt glue gun for adhesive.

Go for the 3M stuff. Hot melt glue will let go in cold weather. Also, don't overglue the piece that covers the heater controls. You may need to remove that one someday.

I have used 3M VHB double-sided tape. It is available in small rolls at places like K-Mart. I chose double-sided tape because it looked like that's what was used to attach the trim originally. Also, it's not messy and is easy to work with.

Before attempting to reattach the trim, I thoroughly cleaned both mating surfaces. I did this by scraping the old adhesive with a sharp wood chisel. As I recall, I also used sandpaper on back of the wood trim.

As with any adhesive, the cleanliness of the substrates is of the utmost importance if a strong, permanent bond is to be achieved.

Sincerely,

Aaron

Re: dash adhesive.
 

Thanks ,guys for the advice.
I will try all in turn.
Leaving the baseball bat for last.
I have driven these cars (W123's)
for ten years at least.
All the other small lessons I have learned it is the first time I've had to do this .
Once again, thanks for the info.
trish :)

LOL - yea, I shoulda mentioned to glue and put the piece of trim on prior to using the bat. I used the 3M stuff and the bat/tennis racket. My problem was that the wood would stick but come up at the outer edges so the bat was at one end and the tennis racket was at the other.

dash parts
 

hey best stuff on earth to use is gorilla glue holds anything to anyhting Used it on all my parts that were no longer in there place.Be care full not to get it on any thing else.
pete

Re: dash adhesive
 

Bill, I missunderstood.
I thought you just left the bat in there because the adhesive failed.
I was wondering what you did if you had a passenger in the right seat........
Let them hold the bat maybe?
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Pat

I had tried gluing mine several times. Epoxy doesn't work. Yesterday I used contact cement. Hope it works better. It seems to work so far.

I can also verify the epoxy does not work.

I liked the idea mentioned above using a good double sided tape.

If not that, then maybe a try the GE clear 100% silicone. (used sparingly so as not to ooze out all over)

One those will be used on my next attempt.

good luck

my 2 cents
 

The glovebox trim was a challenge to get the ends to stick and not curl up. I tried 3m trim adhesive,silicone,and even crazy glue but they all came unstuck. The only stuff that has worked (so far)is called GOOP ,they have a bunch of types,I used the auto type.Taping the edges down for a couple of days seems to help also.

Automotive GOOP is great stuff. I used it fix all 4 door seal which all had a break in the same spot, and to glue the driver's side mirror triangle back in place. I crazy glued the trianlge before and it held for a liitle more then a year. I've seen automotive trim adhesive in strores but never tried it. It looks to be similar to crazy glue to me.

GORILLA GLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WILL SOLVE ALL OF YOUR PROBLEMS USE C-CLAMPS TO KEEP THE PIECES IN PLACE UNTILL IT SETS. Trus me when I tell you it is the best stuff on earth.:D

My mechanic fixed my ashtray wood with something that appears to be black. Not sure what it is, but it's been holding like steel. I had previously reglued this piece myself with binder clips and 3m Emblem and Trim Adhesive, but another layer or the MB wood / aluminum "sandwich" must have separated.