Sticking to Ford plastics

Edwood_Woodwood

pappa_golf wrote: »

£5 for a hot glue gun on ebay with free glue sticks

Plastic is notoriously difficult to bond with glue, unless one knows what the specific different compounds make up that plastic then using glue is just hit and miss until, if ever, a glue is used that does bond.

JB Weld is usually best for bonding plastic than any glue.

forgotmyname

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Has the cars plastic been polished with a wax based polish?

My first thoughts, used flash dash or co.ckpit shine or a similar product in the past, maybe even a previous owner. It puts a waxy/greasy onto the plastic to make it shine, you wont stick much to that.

hollie.weimeraner

My wife has a Fiesta with a dash cam mounted just below the rear view mirror.
I ran the cable behind the head lining as it is a loose fit and then down the A pillar by just using a plastic spatula to ease it into the gap between the pillar and the plastic trim.
It then runs down beside the door seal and under the glove box where it's tie wrapped and then under the plastic trim for the centre console.
The only place it's visible is where it drops down from the headlining to plug into the camera and obviously where it plugs into the power supply.

agrinnall

forgotmyname wrote: »

My first thoughts, used flash dash or co.ckpit shine or a similar product in the past, maybe even a previous owner. It puts a waxy/greasy onto the plastic to make it shine, you wont stick much to that.

Bought new and never waxed/polished by me, so there's been nothing added since it came out of the factory.

Deneb

agrinnall wrote: »

Bought new and never waxed/polished by me, so there's been nothing added since it came out of the factory.

Many plastics are inherently greasy - not to the extent that you'd notice rubbing a finger over them, but enough to retard application of adhesives. That's why I suggested a quick wipe with acetone. It's a degreaser, which leaves no residue on evaporation and is inert to most plastics.

Le_Kirk

It may not be the fact that the plastic is shiny or greasy but because it is rippled. Look closely at it or rub you hand across it and you find it is made up of tiny raised bumps. This is why hot glue will work, as it finds its way between the ripples and why sticky pads will not, as they require a flat surface to which to adhere.

neilmcl

Seriously guys, there's absolutely no reason to start applying hot glue or plastic weld, or anything of that ilk and ruin the appearance of a perfectly good dash. As explained the cable can easily be routed and hidden behind trim. There are plenty of videos online showing how it's done and it's nothing more than a 30 min job with no potential damage done to your car.

AdrianC

If you're thinking of glueing stuff to the trim, I sincerely hope this isn't a lease car - or one that you're planning on selling. What happens when this particular dashcam dies/gets superceded?

Lorian

Watch you don't cross the cable over the end of any SRS side airbag if fitted when you take a shortcut across the headlining to the door rubber at the top of the A Pillar trim.

If you have side airbags they typically (always?) have SRS written on the A pillar hiding a bolt to secure the trim on when the bag fires.

Lorian

neilmcl wrote: »

As long as you run the cable in the gap above the A pillar you will be fine.

Indeed, above being the important word.