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The glass fell out of the door mirror on my Volvo S40 recently and I've been trying to work out how to reattach it.

Luckily the glass remained whole, and it fits snugly back into the plastic frame it was mounted on, but it isn't held securely enough to drive like that.

I have looked for suitable adhesives, but all say glass or plastic, I can't find any which indicate they are suitable for both. The best option I have found so far is something like Araldite two part epoxy, but given that it will be out in all weathers, I want to be sure that this is a good way to go before I commit to it.

How should I reattach the glass from my mirror to the plastic frame it was mounted on.

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    Could you post some photos? Are there any screws that may have gone missing?
    – WeakMech
    Apr 30 '18 at 23:19
  • Any high quality adhesive for plastic will work for glass, and vice versa.
    – Moab
    Apr 30 '18 at 23:57
  • You could try sealant to secure the mirror into place, look for a type that goes good with plastics and stays elastic in all climates. Sealant holds good in weather and is generally quite strong and adhesive. Alternatively, there are glues that kind of chemically melt the plastic and so joins them together. Like vulcanising rubber. Or you could use two component glue.
    – Bart
    May 1 '18 at 21:41
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After considering my options, I decided to go for a contact adhesive rather than an epoxy. I was concerned that after hardening the epoxy would become brittle, whereas the contact adhesive looked like it would stay more flexible.

I thoroughly cleaned both the back side of the glass and the (heated) rubberised plastic mirror holder, after realising that it could be easily removed from the mirror assembly. I applied the contact adhesive to both, waited 15 minutes for the adhesive to become tacky, and then pressed them together with as much force as I could manage with my hands (bond strength with this contact adhesive being related to pressure rather than duration).

I ended up with a nice strong bond, as far as I can see, but only time will tell how it holds up to the elements. I certainly feel more confident about bond strength than if I'd used sealant.

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  • A year on, and the contact adhesive is holding well.
    – Mark Booth
    Aug 19 '19 at 9:41
  • Mark Booth, can you provide specific name/brand of adhesive used?
    – user3241114
    Dec 29 '19 at 16:19
  • I used a generic contact adhesive from a local store (Wilko I think) @user3241114 so I think the closest branded product would be something like "Gorilla Contact Adhesive Clear 75g". The important thing is to look for something where it describes the bond strength as depening on the pressure applied.
    – Mark Booth
    Jan 1 '20 at 20:38

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