Stick 'em up

March 21, 2009 11:31 AM

Can anyone recommend a good adhesive tape for an automobile dashboard?

I have a '08 Nissan Versa and I'm trying to affix a small satellite radio antenna to the dash where it meets the windshield. This is one of the magnet mount antennas but I can't find a good place to channel the antenna to the roof of the car, so I'm leaving it inside and it's working great. However I can't find any sort of tape to hold it in place and keep it from sliding around.
The dash seems very slick, like it's coated with a wax of some sort but even cleaning with alcohol is not helping. I've tried everything from double sided foam tapes to duct tape and nothing will stick. I'm sure I could sand the dash down a bit, but would rather not damage the car for a half assed radio installation; this is also the reason I'm avoiding glues. Are they making dashboards out of some sort of anti-stick material now, or have I just not found the right tape to use?

posted by paxton to home & garden (5 comments total)

A lot of automobile trim components are made from a lubricated polypropylene to prevent squeaking and are essentially impossible to adhere anything too.

Does the antenna actually touch the windshield? A little dab of clear silicone on the top of the antenna where it contacts the windshield would stop it from sliding around and be dead simple to remove with a single sided razor blade in the future.
posted by Mitheral at 11:57 AM on March 21 [1 favorite]

This may be similar to the problems with the double-sided foam, but have you tried velcro tape yet?
posted by saffry at 12:13 PM on March 21

I don't know what your antenna looks like so I don't know if this would work, but I have one "gel pad" on my dash for my sunglasses, and another at the very side for my turnpike pass, Handstands brand. I got these in the auto accessories section and they're about 3x5 inches. There are two different ones that look almost exactly the same but one works a lot better than the other. The one that works says "Handstand" on one end, and most of the top is covered by little dots/hollow impressions. The one that didn't work as well has a swirly circle pattern on it and says, ironically, "Sticky Pad" and "handstands.com." It didn't stay on the dash as well as the other one - I think those must be the original version.

They don't stick permanently to the dash - I've taken them in the house 2 or 3 times and rinsed the dust off, and they're as good as new. Other than that, they never move, and I've never yet had anything slide off of one of them while I'm driving. The sunglasses don't have all that much surface contact, but even they stay in place when I'm not using them. I've had them for a year and a half and they haven't deteriorated at all. They don't leave any residue on the dash or anything I put on them, including paper.
posted by onemorething at 2:07 PM on March 21

saffry's velcro tape suggestion is spot-on. My dad used to use this to affix his radar detector to the dash. Bonus that you can take it down when you're out of the car.
posted by radioamy at 6:19 PM on March 21

That velcro tape is sticky on plastics, even polyethylene. Its great for mounting stuff on the dash. That's probably going to work for you.

If you still have troubles with sticking, alcohol may not be the right cleaning solvent - it really doesn't work on everything, particularly if it's wax that is on your dash. You may need to step up to a citrus cleaner, or then acetone, or then naphtha, or then xylene or MEK, (these last two are nastier, but good solvents). You need good ventilation for any of them!. If you do change solvents, spot test it someplace, just in case the dash isn't PE, cause these can melt or color shift other plastics.

Like onemorething says, something out of the whole glue/tape world would be having a non-skid material between the antenna and the dash, if the antenna is heavy enough. You can save cash by getting your own: a small piece of neoprene sheet (a good hardware store will sell this stuff by the foot), or that waffled thin foam material that is sold as shelf liner at bed bath kitchen container type stores is really tacky and might work. It could get dusty and not stick so well, but a quick rise will fix this.
posted by buzzv at 1:26 PM on March 23