Adhesive back Velcro wont stick for very long on interior panels,

Tijoe said:

I installed some adhesive backed Velcro strips in numerous places to help hold my window shades in place. The adhesive on the back of the Velcro all fell off after a couple months. (Yes, I originally used alcohol to clean the spots before sticking on the Velcro strips.)( I have never used Armorall or other surface conditions on any of my interior panels.)

Has anyone found an adhesive (perhaps put it on the sticky part of the Velcro) that will stick long term to our interior panels, that eventually can be removed without discoloring or messing up the panels?

Click to expand...

I had the same issue and solved it with a few simple tricks:

1) Never buy Velcro that comes with an adhesive

2) Use 3M VHB 4950 (good heat tolerance) to create the initial attachment to a clean smooth surface, one piece on the van, a second piece on the item you want to attach.

3) Use Cyanoacrylate Adhesive (CA) between the back side of each half of the non-stick Velcro and the front side each of the two the VHB pieces from step 2.

After many experiments in the hot windshield area attempting to use Velcro for the top part of my sun shield I can confirm that the above steps finally worked and have held strong for four months even in high southwest summer heat.

It's possible the CA will fail at some point, but the adhesive velcro I tried initially was junk and did the exact same thing you described. And VHB alone wasn't enough to create a strong grip to the non-adhesive velcro. It's backside is woven and too uneven, but a CA layer helps make a smooth flat blond.

Cheers.

Majority of tapes sold as 3M VHB are Fake - amazon

Real 3M VHB is Super Sticky and pretty much Permeant bond -
and Expensive

Once you use Real 3M VHB tape its easy to feel fake tape -
fake tape not even close to as Sticky as VHB

Real VHB tape is so sticky its kind of dangerous to use -
even the slightest touch with fingers and your Instantly stuck to tape -

RS Huges is a Good place to buy 3M tapes -
they sometimes give out Sample Packs that have about 15 two inch long tape samples-
rolls of tape cost $60 up - get smallest length roll -

Foam Core tape
Easiest to use tape has - Foam Core - makes tape slightly thicker -
foam core adds a Tiny amount of wiggle that helps tape resist shear and cleavage loads -
Foam core is Super strong - zero worry about tearing foam

tape that does Not have Foam Core is made for machine application and is
Super hard to apply by hand -

Make Sure to get 2 sided tape with ReLease Paper BOTH sides of tape -
this cost more but makes handling and application 100% Easier -

Practice on some scrap -
if exact location is nessary make a jig to help in placement of parts -

Once tape touches surface there is No adjustment - its One shot -

use plastic gloves - get Smaller gloves that fit Tight -
any excess of glove on finger tips will get stuck to tape -


I did some tests using VHB Foam Core
bonded to a 4 in aluminum I beam to 5 Ft long square solid aluminum bar
using 1wide x 1.5 long tape to bond together
Both surfers prepped

Bar was used as Lever -
when bond failed tape was still intact and tape had pulled a layer
of aluminum oxide off I beam -
back side of tape had layer of oxide that was shinny like a mirror -

was a Wow moment for me

Buildin_a_van said:

I've been using it to attach wood wall panels. I've had no issues detaching from the van paint after roasting all day in the hot Georgia sun. But it has detached from the wood panels that I apparently could not clean well enough prior to adhering. I fixed that with a couple 1/4" staples through the Dual Lock and into the wall panel.

Click to expand...

That's one nice thing about the birchwood plywood from my local homedepot. It has a pre-finished side that's polished totally smooth. At one point they briefly only had another type that even on the finished side it was still a bit rough, and I'd imagine any regular plywood would always still be a bit too rough for good tape adhesion. But I guess you'd have to face the pre-finished birchwood side inward for that to be useful, which most people wouldn't want to do. I usually paint my birchwood white on all sides, so it wouldn't matter either way. But so far I've only been willing to bolt birchwood to the van because I'm typically loading the wood with some other heavy item. I guess when I finally get around the purely cosmetic wall and roof portions, this could come in handy though. Right now the plan is soft white synthetic leather or similar, so it may never be necessary.

Have you had good results with velcro for presumably 1/8 or 1/8 veneer type wall/roof panel mounting? I hit aggressive 4x4 trails all the time and worry it might come off, but maybe not with wood that thin or by controlling section size.

Cheers.

4fastman said:

Majority of tapes sold as 3M VHB are Fake - amazon

Real 3M VHB is Super Sticky and pretty much Permeant bond -
and Expensive

Once you use Real 3M VHB tape its easy to feel fake tape -
fake tape not even close to as Sticky as VHB

Real VHB tape is so sticky its kind of dangerous to use -
even the slightest touch with fingers and your Instantly stuck to tape -

RS Huges is a Good place to buy 3M tapes -
they sometimes give out Sample Packs that have about 15 two inch long tape samples-
rolls of tape cost $60 up - get smallest length roll -

Foam Core tape
Easiest to use tape has - Foam Core - makes tape slightly thicker -
foam core adds a Tiny amount of wiggle that helps tape resist shear and cleavage loads -
Foam core is Super strong - zero worry about tearing foam

tape that does Not have Foam Core is made for machine application and is
Super hard to apply by hand -

Make Sure to get 2 sided tape with ReLease Paper BOTH sides of tape -
this cost more but makes handling and application 100% Easier -

Practice on some scrap -
if exact location is nessary make a jig to help in placement of parts -

Once tape touches surface there is No adjustment - its One shot -

use plastic gloves - get Smaller gloves that fit Tight -
any excess of glove on finger tips will get stuck to tape -


I did some tests using VHB Foam Core
bonded to a 4 in aluminum I beam to 5 Ft long square solid aluminum bar
using 1wide x 1.5 long tape to bond together
Both surfers prepped

Bar was used as Lever -
when bond failed tape was still intact and tape had pulled a layer
of aluminum oxide off I beam -
back side of tape had layer of oxide that was shinny like a mirror -

was a Wow moment for me

Click to expand...

I've always bought from the 3M store on Amazon, which is both shipped and sold by Amazon, no third party. Only if you subscribe and save does it say a third party fulfills it.

3M - 1114112 - 1113996 VHB 4950 Heavy Duty Mounting Tape - 1 in. x 15 ft. Permanent Bonding Tape Roll with Acrylic Foam Core. Tapes and Adhesives https://a.co/d/g2nwjkn

But even VHB will struggle to adhere to any non-smooth surface, like weaving or uninished wood, especially if it's a high energy/hot surface.

And it can usually be removed easily from indoor clean surfaces after applying heat from a heat gun.

But after a year outside in the sun/dirt/elements, I could see it becoming a mess to remove. Outside the van I always bolt things.

Cheers.

An important consideration with VHB is the surface being attached to. For attaching to plastics, 3M sells a LSE line of products. For standard VHB 3M sells Primer 94 for attaching to low surface energy materials like plastics. My power step came with a couple VHB backed lights to illuminate the step. The VHB quickly detached from the plastic van trim after a misplaced step kicked the light. Reapplication with a little Primer 94 and the bond is solid.

Van Gogh said:

That's one nice thing about the birchwood plywood from my local homedepot. It has a pre-finished side that's polished totally smooth. At one point they briefly only had another type that even on the finished side it was still a bit rough, and I'd imagine any regular plywood would always still be a bit too rough for good tape adhesion. But I guess you'd have to face the pre-finished birchwood side inward for that to be useful, which most people wouldn't want to do. I usually paint my birchwood white on all sides, so it wouldn't matter either way. But so far I've only been willing to bolt birchwood to the van because I'm typically loading the wood with some other heavy item. I guess when I finally get around the purely cosmetic wall and roof portions, this could come in handy though. Right now the plan is soft white synthetic leather or similar, so it may never be necessary.

Have you had good results with velcro for presumably 1/8 or 1/8 veneer type wall/roof panel mounting? I hit aggressive 4x4 trails all the time and worry it might come off, but maybe not with wood that thin or by controlling section size.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

My experience has been with 1/4" Birch side wall panels. I wrap the front in 1/8" landau closed cell foam and marine vinyl. Layers are stuck together with 3M 90 and secured with 1/4" staples on the back over wrap. The dual lock attaches to the raw birch veneer on the back and required a couple staples to stay secure. A 4ftx2ft panels uses six 1" square pieces of 250 density dual lock. Terrain has been on road so far, and the panels are also lighty wedged between cabinets in most places. They stay put.

The problem with bonging to plastic is that almost all Plastics outgas. This gas attacks the adhesive. To attach Velcro to plastic you need very good quality heavy duty Velcro. Then you need something between the Velcro and the plastic such as VBH tape or T-rex waterproof tape or 3m #80 Spray.
Clean the plastic with Alcohol.
Know the maximum weight or pull you need. tapes and Velcro are rated in pounds per square inch. 5lb PSI Velcro is 1" x1" and can hold about half its weight permanently.
Most people use too little Velcro or too small contact area.
If you want it removable use the tape method. The tape needs to be 4 times the surface area of the Velcro in the direction of the pull force. Then attach the Velcro to the tape.
Use 3m #80 Spray method for permanent bonds. .Mask off the area. Spray the plastic and spray the Velcro. Let each dry for a day. Spray each a second time. wait 15 to 30 minutes and press hard. Let dry for another day. It will not come off. Not without harsh chemicals anyway.
Hope this helps