If the image in one of the external mirrors seemed to wobble when driving with the vibration of the car the glass face may be partially detached from its backing. If this is the case one can gently pull on the glass by the edge using a fingernail to pry it free from the housing to remount it before it is lost. If you can see that the adhesive backing has partially released but the glass seems to be stuck, applying a little heat from a hairdryer to the glass may help release the last little bit of the backing.
If it seems you are applying more than then just a little force the source of the wobble may be elsewhere in the mirror mount or its adjusting gimble and is not addressed in this document.
The original part is a high-quality glass mirror and is a very expensive dealer part, $200+. The aftermarket replacements are made of plastic and are not of the same quality, so, I feel it is worth the effort to reuse the original glass part. If the root cause of the glass coming loose is that the sealing paint on the back of the mirror glass has failed, causing the glass to detach from its adhesive backing sheet, here is how to fix it:
- Clean and then spray the back of the mirror glass with white epoxy spray paint. If desired using a darker color paint will make the letting on the passenger side mirror more visible.
- I avoided using acrylic paint as it can be prone to adhesion issues as the original paint had. Also;
- I see no reason why a urethane-based spray paint wouldn't work just as well.
- I purchased the spray paint at a home improvement/hardware store to reseal it and let it dry overnight.
- Peel off the mirror's remaining adhesive backing sheet from the aluminum backing plate in the housing. For me, the adhesive sheet peeled off easily in one piece.
- Leaving the car out in the sun to warm it up can help in softening the adhesive or;
- Using a hair drier to warm it up may help if you find the backing sheet stubborn to remove.
- Apply the wider variety of 3M Super Strength Molding Tape (double-sided) or similar in strips
to cover the back of the mirror leaving the double-sided tape's second side red protection strips in place. - Use scissors to trim the tape around the mirror so the tape strips do not extend past the edge of the glass.
- Peel the second side strips from the tape exposing the adhesive backing. Then;
- Gently press the glass into position onto the aluminum mount in the mirror housing for a perfect repair.
- The adhesive on the 3M tape is very strong so make sure the glass is oriented properly before the adhesive touches the backing plate.
- Take a look at the other mirror for reference and consider making some shims from cardboard and taping them in place on the inside edges of the mirror housing opening. This may be useful in ensuring a gap around the glass is relatively even when pressing the glass into place.
- I positioned the bottom edge of the glass into the proper position and then tilted the glass vertically where it came into full contact with the backing plate.
- Once the tape comes in contact with the backing plate it really can't be repositioned.
The takeaway from this is if one has a loose mirror face it may be the mirror backing has failed. If this is the case it can be removed and remounted before losing the glass and having to replace it.
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