+Grading Papers Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Hi, my etrex has endured many different climates, and it is supposed to be waterproof. But the glue holding the rubber siding is loosing its stickiness. What kind of glue would you recommend I use to reglue the rubber to the plastic shell? I want to fix it up before selling it off. I'm upgrading! Quote Link to comment
+GeePa Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Mine started doing that (a common problem unfortunately) so I wrapped a few rubber bands around it and things have held up that way for over a year now. I have also heard that Garmin can provide you with a kit to fix it. Quote Link to comment
Windcalmer Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Being someone who mods Nerf guns, and just about everything else I can tell you that there are really only three glues to use when trying to glue plastic to another type of material. Superglue, Gorilla glue, and Plumbers Goop. All three should work great. Just remember that you need to be VERY careful with Gorilla glue. It will sorta foam up. This is a good thing because it will fill any gaps, but it will also ooze out if you use too much. Hope it helps. PM me if you have any questions. I might be able to point you to a few Nerf write-ups that deal with gluing rubber to plastic. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 (edited) I do NOT recommend Gorilla Glue. Good for all kinds of things, but this is a different kind of job. You want something that remains pliable, is waterproof, and could care less about temperature (no big coefficient of expansion and doesn't soften - that being the problem with the OEM material). Get a bottle of GooGone or similar. Carefully remove the outer band. Clean ALL of the adhesive off of both the band and inner clear wrap with the GooGone. Wait until it dries. Get yourself a tube of ordinary clear silicone seal (RTV). Apply a thin layer to the entire clear band and then slip your black band back onto the unit. Clean off any excess. Secure it with 3M blue painters tape or similar material. Rubber bands have been used, but tend to deform the rubber a bit, so there's a chance you won't get 100% seal all the way around. Wait 48 hours until the RTV has properly cured. You're good to go. If you send it in to Garmin for repair, you'll get a new band using exactly the same double sided tape as caused you the problem to begin with. You'll find a whole thread on this topic around here somewhere. Edited July 23, 2010 by ecanderson Quote Link to comment
+Grading Papers Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 I do NOT recommend Gorilla Glue. Good for all kinds of things, but this is a different kind of job. You want something that remains pliable, is waterproof, and could care less about temperature (no big coefficient of expansion and doesn't soften - that being the problem with the OEM material). Get a bottle of GooGone or similar. Carefully remove the outer band. Clean ALL of the adhesive off of both the band and inner clear wrap with the GooGone. Wait until it dries. Get yourself a tube of ordinary clear silicone seal (RTV). Apply a thin layer to the entire clear band and then slip your black band back onto the unit. Clean off any excess. Secure it with 3M blue painters tape or similar material. Rubber bands have been used, but tend to deform the rubber a bit, so there's a chance you won't get 100% seal all the way around. Wait 48 hours until the RTV has properly cured. You're good to go. If you send it in to Garmin for repair, you'll get a new band using exactly the same double sided tape as caused you the problem to begin with. You'll find a whole thread on this topic around here somewhere. I should find that forum because I wonder...do I put silicone where the buttons are? I would think not. This is beginning to look like a project for my husband, who is the tinkerer in the home....currently making lights for his motorcycle. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I should find that forum because I wonder...do I put silicone where the buttons are? I would think not. This is beginning to look like a project for my husband, who is the tinkerer in the home....currently making lights for his motorcycle. Here's a pretty comprehensive list - as you can see, the topic comes up frequently: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=244272 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=186871 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=248759 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=103053 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=202846 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=254398 Quote Link to comment
+Indotguy Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Has anyone tried Mineral Spirits to remove the old adhesive? Quote Link to comment
+Cujo31 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 As someone who asked this question recently....and just finished doing iton both my Venture Cx and Vista HCx, I can tell youhow I accomplished it.... Gently remove the rubber band from the unit... try NOT to stretch it when removing.... Remove the adhesive from both the unit and rubber ring... For this I used Goo Gone- worked quick and cleaned it completely. Let it dry..... Next I roughed up the rubber a little with 400 grit sandpaper. This will help with the adhesive adhersion. AVOID the pips for the button controls. Wipe clean when done.... To get my ring adhered back on... I used DAP Household Adhesive sealant (recommended in the threads) which is 100% silicone. I used Q-tips and carefully applied it to the ring again AVOIDING the button pips. Once I had the sealant on, I carefully returned the rubber ring to the unit. Next, I put in two batteries and then started to take rubberbands and put them around the unit holding the rubber ring snuggly against the unit. After everything was in place, I turned on theunit and tried all thebuttons to makesure they worked and that the pips were in the right place...adjust if needed. Odd but true... I took both units andput them on the dash in my van.... and left them there. They both sat and baked in my van all day while I was at work... curing the silicone. after work and a drive home, I removed all of the rubberbands... and VIOLA! The rings are now nice, tight, and snug... and much better then when they slipped and slid all over the place. I had to trim and clean a little excess sealant off... but not a major issue. and so....that's how I fixed them... Hope that helps.... Cujo Quote Link to comment
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