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Thread: How do you make suction caps stick

  1. #1
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    How do you make suction caps stick

    On my cars I have magnetic Logitec suction caps to hold the mobile phone and the standard suction caps for the GPS - all fall off with monotonous regularity often on a hot day when the small amount of air between the glass and the suction cap expands and pushes the suction cap off - the mobile phone did go out an open window once.

    I have tried cleaning everything first and moistening the glass and cap with no long lasting success. I have removed the cap when the temp in the car has been up around 60 and reattaching so that normal temps will be much lower so pressures lower but it they still fall off. I did try thicker liquid such as dishwasher liquid but again no success.

    On one car that does not have an internal rear vision mirror I bought a stick on one with a suction cap and it kept on falling off - so as it really needs to be attached permanently I put a dob of silastic in the centre of the suction cap and fitting it and once the silastic set it has not fallen off - however not good for the other suction caps as I need to be able to move them.

    So after ideas on how to make suction caps stick properly to glass and not fall off from time to time.

    Thanks

    Garry
    REMLR 243

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  2. #2
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    Bugger off the suction cups and get some 3M VHB tape. Same stuff that is used on the e-Tags. it will be on there for good!
    Being glass, could be scraped off with a razor blade or similar when time comes to remove.
    -Mitch
    'El Burro' 2012 Defender 90.

  3. #3
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    Train yourself some geckos?

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toxic_Avenger View Post
    Bugger off the suction cups and get some 3M VHB tape. Same stuff that is used on the e-Tags. it will be on there for good!
    Being glass, could be scraped off with a razor blade or similar when time comes to remove.
    Thanks but I need to remove them from time to time - if I wanted them on permanently I would just put a dob of silastic on like I did with the revision mirror.

    Cheers

    Garry


    Hmmm geckos - now there is an idea :-)
    REMLR 243

    2007 Range Rover Sport TDV6
    1977 FC 101
    1976 Jaguar XJ12C
    1973 Haflinger AP700
    1971 Jaguar V12 E-Type Series 3 Roadster
    1957 Series 1 88"
    1957 Series 1 88" Station Wagon

  5. #5
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    3M Dual Lock is a very strong type of "Velcro".

    I started using it on a Perspex cover for my rear window and it held all around OZ, in contrast to Velcro which slowly slid down the glass.
    I also use it to hold my inverter which has stayed put for 4 years.
    Regards Philip A

  6. #6
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    I think you will need to purge all the air out of the auction cup by filling it up with some liquid.
    You can try dog saliva.....Or some oil
    That way it will stay put..


    By doing this mine never fall off but that said.....On a extremely hot, the suction cup melted and not leave a nice black ring on the windscreen...

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by garrycol View Post
    ....

    So after ideas on how to make suction caps stick properly to glass and not fall off from time to time.

    Thanks

    Garry
    How flexible is the budget?

    No idea on what devices you have/use/etc, but back in the day when I was a courier, we had those annoyingly large WinCE PDA devices that weighed half a ton compared to delivery peoples new fangled slimline PDA devices.
    Those PDAs weighed about the same as the average brick, and were suction mounted to the windscreen of your car, as the install!

    The device of choice used in those days was the expensive RAM mount system.
    I still have all that old gear from about 2000, and the RAM suction cup still works perfectly.

    The suction cups do eventually lose their grip due to massive heat build up when facing the sun(I park my D1 facing the sun in my drive).
    When freshly installed tho, they're immovable. My old one holds a 7" Galaxy Tab above the centre of the dash, and I got another RAM mount to hold the phone on the righthand side of the D1 dash binnacle.

    It does take a few months tho for the cups to eventually lose their grip, and over the past 15 years, the old RAM mount I have .. I reckon has fallen off of it's own accord twice or so.
    The new RAM mount holding the phone tho falls off every month or so on that RHS, and I reckon it must be due to the curve in that part of the windscreen.
    I've placed the phone next to the tablet mount and it has never fallen off. I don't like it on that side as it intrudes the vision, but I mount it low on the RHS of the dash and it's not a problem.

    RAM stuff is expensive tho .. so be prepared.

    Up until I got my RAM mount for the phone, I reckon I'd gone through about 10 different phone holder garbage off ebay trying to find one that may work for more than a few weeks.

    If RAM mount suction cups don't work for 'ya .. you could try a Woods vacuum suction cup, but again prepare for a huge sticker shock! Those things use a pump system for creating the suction between cup and surface and the pumping doodad that you squeeze to get the cup stuck has a ring indicator to show how much vacuum it's lost, so you just give it a few squeezes before it falls off again.
    Apparently the beesknees of suction cups .. but we're talking ~$100 worth of suction cup(even tho the majority of that cost will be in the postage)!
    Arthur.

    '99 D1 300Tdi Auto
    '03 D2 Td5 Auto

  8. #8
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    X2 what Arthur says regarding RAM mounts. Recommended!!!

    My iPad is held by one and it stayed put for the whole of an almost 8000km trip last year. Co-drivers Garmin navigator however fell off at least once a day.

    Only other trick I’ve tried is use a bit of water or saliva on the cup before sticking on the window.

    cheers

    Steve

  9. #9
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    1. Clean the cap thoughrely with hot soapy water.
    2. Clean the inside of the window with Windex or some other glass cleaner.
    3. Spit on the cap and push it onto the glass then lock it in place with the lever.
    4. If/When it falls off again, Rinse and Repeat

    If you can rest the bottom of the device on the dash that the cup is holding it will help by taking a lot of the weight off the cup.
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

  10. #10
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    A smear of egg white on the suction cup works.

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