Hiya all, hope you're doing well 🙂

For about a year I've had a phone holder right in the middle of my Mk 2.5's dashboard, which was placed on top of a circular mount (smooth circular disc so the holder can adhere properly instead of the uneven surface of the dash) that was glued to the dashboard with two part epoxy (previous owner installed this). As it would be expected, during the hot summer months the epoxy dried up, resulting in the circular base becoming unglued from its resting place and leaving a round spot of epoxy right in the middle of the dash. I have thought of ways to remove the glue, but I fear that dashboard's squishy plastic would be irreperably damaged from the use of hard solvents and/or heat. After not coming up with any satisfactory solutions, I have decided to seek the knowledge of the almighty Ford Gurus that roam about these forums, and let this become a guide to help others at removing old and stubborn glue and adhesives from soft plastics.

Have any of you experienced anything similar? How can i remove the glue without risking permanent marks and/or damage to my car's dashboard? Should I just reapply some glue over the dried up epoxy and place the holder mounting plate over it?

Thank you in advance for the help, any opinion or idea is welcome 😁

try a little direct heat, think hair dryer, or possibly soften it using isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud see if it dissolves. As its 2 part it may be impervious.

 

If it's 2 part epoxy, I fear it will be doing it's job and is now permanent. I have no idea what the previous owner thought on thinking this was a solution to attach a bloomin' phone holder!! Anyway, if it were me, I'd now think of concealing it as best possible. Investing in a new phone holder with a suction cup big enough to cover the mess. Even go full steam punk, and cut a disc of black checker plate and rivet it into dash!

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Even go full steam

Actually you might just have come up with something. If the OP used one of those little mini steam generators (normally used for cleaning) then the steam may soften the 'squidgy' dashboard and get under the epoxy making if loose it's bond with the vinyl. Just a thought but worth a try ??? 🤔

26 minutes ago, unofix said:

Actually you might just have come up with something. If the OP used one of those little mini steam generators...

I have the 'Lidl' version of that steamer - darn handy wee things...

2 hours ago, unofix said:

Actually you might just have come up with something. If the OP used one of those little mini steam generators (normally used for cleaning) then the steam may soften the 'squidgy' dashboard and get under the epoxy making if loose it's bond with the vinyl. Just a thought but worth a try ??? 🤔

 

Indeed! i had not thought of the steam guns so I'll give it a try and post the results. This ought to be interesting...

So, I was at it for an hour and I managed to remove about 90% of the glue while keeping nicks and cuts on the dashboard to a minimum. I used a steam cleaner to soften and a small razorblade to scratch the epoxy off the surface of the dash, with a decent result. The first image is the glue as it was before. The second image is about 20 minutes in and the third image is about an hour in. I now have applied some UV protectant and will wait till tommorow to check the final result. Thanks everyone for the ideas, you really helped out!

Is the dash hard underneath that section?  Higher spec models have a top storage box up there.  Just wondering if you could cut a hole and fit one of those.

It is perfectly possible to retrofit the storage compartment on top of the dashboard. I have done a few back in the days.

The required cutout is marked at the underside of the dashboard. You just have to cut at the inside of the markings too prevent making the cutout too large (in some locations the storage compartment barely covers the cutout).

The dashboard basically consists of 3 layers that are bonded together. A hard plastic layer at the bottom, a soft insulation layer in between and a soft layer on top. The hard plastic layer can easily be cut with a hotknife or a heated knife. Once the hard plastic layer is cut the other layers can easily be cut using a sharp knife.

Once the cutout is made the storage compartment can easily be clipped in place. 


It took me less than 1.5 Hours to remove the dashboard, make the cutout and re-install the dashboard.

That sounds like a ton of work just removing the dash!