One of my wing mirrors broke off and the other is a little stiff. I have bought two repair kits (bolts, nuts, washers and the tension spring) to repair the mirror myself.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get the black plastic trim away from the mirror housing to open it up. (I’ve read that it’s spot glued)
There are various methods and the one I tried was to put a CD inbetween the mirror and the black trim and try to prize the trim off by also inserting a knife and twisting it. It seems to be very well stuck and I don’t want to put too much pressure on in case I break the mirror. (The CD is meant to spread the force)
Are there easier ways and if so where can I find the instructions (possibly with photos).
I did try briefly to cut the glue joint between the trim and the housing with a stanley knife but I was affraid to slip and score the outer side of the mirror housing and if I tried from the inside I didn’t know if I was cutting between the joint or the actual housing plastic!
I think you are doing the right thing and just have to keep on trying to carefuuly break the glue around that thin trim.
I’ve done a couple now and it is quite straightforward, particularly once you manage to get the trim started.
You may be unlucky and the mirror has had that trim removed before and it was overglued back in place. I hope not as then you certainly will have trouble.
Just keep at it - everything sounds just right. FWIW, I used a combination of Stanley knife and wallpaper scraper to cut and ease the trim off.
Do not praise against the glass , Use a resonably sharp knife between the black plastic trim and the body of the mirror housing , twist the knife so that the trim pops away fom the body , gradually work around between the body and trim pushing and turning slightly until the trim is off .
Thanks for your reply. I’m actually using the CD between the knife and the glass to evenly spread out the force. It’s the glue I can’t seem to break - once it starts to separate, the rest of it should be easy.
I was using a dinner knife to prize the rim away and a stanley knife to try and cut the glue joint. Should I use a ‘swissknife’ blade instead?
Do NOT praise against the glass . The plastic trim is U shaped and the glue is in the bottom of the U so you can not cut the glue , you must praise it away until the glue breaks . I use a kitchen knife .