Re-glueing your rearview mirror

[Tom Nas]

Hi all,

Last week, my 80's rearview mirror and windscreen parted company. Today, I 
fixed it.

Modus operandi:
Get glass/metal glue kit, 000 703 A1 from your friendly(?) local 
dealership, only $4.
Mark the position of the mirror on the _outside_ of the screen with a 
permanent felt-tipped pen.
Scrape the remainder of the glue off the inside of the screen and the 
mirror stem, and degrease both. Take the mirror head off the stem (there's 
a metal clamping ring holding the mirror head to the stem, removing this 
ring helps taking it off and getting it back on again).
The glue kit contains a tube with the actual glue, and a black nylon gauze. 
Cut the gauze to fit the stem. Open up the tube and squeeze _really_ hard 
to get the glue onto the mirror stem (yes, there actually _is_ glue in 
there) and, within 15 seconds, put the gauze onto the glue. Now press the 
stem onto the marked spot (yes, I know, _inside_ the screen) and hold it 
there for at least 15 seconds, better to err on the safe side.
Wait for a bit before you put the actual mirror head on, give the glue some 
time to cure. The clamping ring goes onto the stem first. Use some grease 
(bike chain spray works fine) on the mirror head and stem to ensure the it 
all comes together with minimal effort. It's a good idea to hold off 
putting the clamping ring on for a couple of days to avoid putting strain 
on the fresh glue.

I'm not sure what purpose the gauze serves, but the metal stem end is a lot 
less noticeable from outside the car with it.  This might be the sole 
purpose, and it might aid in bonding the both together.

It was a painless and quick repair (about 15 minutes start to finish), and 
I advise everyone to get the official glue. It's cheap enough, it works 
well and the gauze isn't included in aftermarket stuff. It doesn't even 
smell obnoxious enough to out-smell the stale-cigarettes-and-dead-rodents 
smell already there.

Tom