3M Tape Primer 94

…using this on a dashboard. Quoting 3M on removal “ To remove 3M Tape Primer 94, you will need a strong solvent like acetone, xylene, or isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Because it is designed to permanently bond adhesive to surfaces, removing it requires patience and gentle scraping.”

There is possibly an alternative, 3M Automotive Double-Sided Tape. It is removed with WD-40 and fishing line used in a sawing motion.

You might want to pay a vist to a local body shop and see if you can get a few inch sample for test purposes.

That is very good to know and thank you for the tip.

Acetone would destroy the dashboard in that spot, and I wonder if IPA would be strong enough to break the bond. I'd avoid using this stuff.

I worked quite.a bit with adhesives and similar products. When seeking an adhesive, I always looked out to the future in the sense could I “undo” what the adhesive did and with minimal damage. As an example take Loctite Red. I often saw people using it on relatively small threaded fasteners. Loctite Red removal involves getting the threaded area to about 500 deg F. which may damage the parts.

In contrast Loctite Blue is designed to be removed with standard hand tools.

....from every post on this thread.

And yes, Acetone is great, but risky.

Using a permanent or semi-permanent adhesive will damage or leave marks on the dash upon removal. You may want to see if using 3M command strips is an option as these are designed to be removed.

This is what 3M says about using the command strips, and their comments apply to the outdoor product line. As an FYI, the indoor product line is only rate to 105 deg F.

“Can I use Command™ Products in my car?
Because the adhesive could soften and lose adhesion above 125°F (51°C), we don't recommend using it in your car. In addition, vinyl dashboards and door panels contain high amounts of plasticizers to maintain flexibility, and this makes adhesion to these surfaces difficult.”

If you're trying to get a Garmin adhesive mount to stay in place on your dashboard, permanently bond it to one of these 3M anti slip mats:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09C289XMN?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_...

They are slightly tacky but don't mar the dash surface. They are easily removeable, washable, trimmable to fit any space, and keep all my dash devices firmly in place. Even heavy 8" GPSr's remain rock solid.

For one thing this product has not been tested at high temperatures. It is designed to keep furniture from moving around from the tacky side against flooring. As to removal or potential damage to the GPS mount, this is what 3M says about its removal from a furniture leg. “The adhesive used with our surface protection products, is a permanent adhesive and is not designed to be removed once applied to the piece of furniture.” In your case “furniture” is the GPS mount.

Something like https://www.amazon.com/Dashboard-Mounting-Heat-Resistant-Sui... may work. It uses a specific 3M product that can withstand 300 deg F. See details on the product at https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40065838/

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I have an 8 fl oz. can of the 3M Tape Primer 94.

I have used it when replacing the battery on my iPads (mini 4 and mini 5 so far) where the screen itself needs to be removed, then reattached after the battery replacement. It creates a better grabbing surface for the double-sided adhesive (Tesa or 3M Tissue tape used on iPads). It's a very thin liquid that you spread and then allow to dry on the surfaces to be mated to each other. When dry, you apply the tissue tape and bond the surfaces. It's not required, however, it does help in the bonding.

That that being said, I don't know that I'd use it on a car dash. Aside from it forming a very thin bonding layer, I would imagine that it *may* actually mildly melt or soften certain plastics and actually allow the tape to "weld" itself onto the surfaces.

Again, I have only used it on iPad repairs where the two bonding surfaces were either painted glass (the interior side of the screen) or aluminum (the iPad housing). It is removable from both those surfaces with IPA...I've never had to use acetone.

It *may* soften the plastics being used on *while it's wet*. It's fine though after it has dried since it's basically a very thin layer of adhesive that fills voids/pits/irregularities in the bonding surfaces.

there no aftermarket suction cup based solution?

Back when video conferences were newer my co. during Covid and camera on was mandatory and since I'm on call 24/7/365 (now people just mute it, poor culture cuz they don't want others to see they're shopping at Costco or looking down at their phones texting and giggling), I bought an arm that holds a smartphone. That suction cup is so powerful when I mount it to the windshield, I cringe and am not sure I can get it off.

I recently used it to separate the back of an iPhone 11 Pro from the display. It defies logic how powerful the suction is.

It may not adhere to the dash, but why destroy a dash over a GPS? It could discretely mount to the glass instead. I'd avoid the defrost vents as well.

Maybe we're overthinking Garmin's defect, I live with it and it's been ok.

I should have been more specific on it's use.

The adhesive side is not applied to the dash. You can either stick the two mats together, adhesive to adhesive, or stick one mat to a piece of plastic or wood. The GPS mount is then glued or screwed to that. The adhesive never touches the dash. It's the slightly tacky side of the mat that rests on the dash.

In my case, I stuck the adhesive side of the mat to a piece of acrylic plastic and glued the GPS mount to the plastic. I've been using it for 5 years in two different vehicles and there is absolutely no marks on the dash, even with continued exposure to hot sun.

Yes, the GPS mount is permanently fastened to the mat, but if the original adhesive disk is worn out, this is an alternative to restoring the OEM adhesive.

The trick is to cut the mat so it has a larger surface area in contact with the dash than the OEM GPS mount.

I've used Niteize Steelie mounts for GPSs for many years. It uses a small VHB tape disk. If eventually fails at I guess ~5 years. Annoying to find the GPS dangling by it's power cord but easily fixed.

I never noticed any harm to the dashboard.

Since the GPSs have horribly reflective surfaces I find it invaluable to simply touch it and change it's angle. Since my phone & ham rig have screens designed for use in the sun I use Ram Mounts for them. To re-orient a Ram Mount you need to pull over and stop as they require two hands to adjust.