[limited60]

Hello all, first post on the forum. Great resource for me as a new owner of a 2018 330i. Thanks in advance for your contribution(s).

I'm curious what you all think about 3M / adhesive-backed aesthetic parts (spoilers, M-Performance side skirt decal, etc).

Do you have any concerns using adhesives to attach things to your car?
Should you decide to remove it, have there been any issues with adhesive residue, paint fading/discoloration, or marring from the removal process?

I'm looking to purchase and install a small / low profile carbon trunk spoiler, but have reservations about essentially taping it to my trunk.


Thanks!

[Korvo]

The adhesive that you're referring to is designed to be applied to paint. It won't come off until you want it to come off. As in, I wouldn't put the spoiler on if you don't want it to be there for the life of the car. If you do remove it someday, you might see discoloration from UV light not touching the underside of the spoiler. The tape can be removed.

Auto manufacturers have been using tape instead of mechanical fasteners for years and this will not change. There's plenty of this tape on/in the car that you probably didn't know about. It's not just aftermarket parts that have it.

If you're worried about it being removed in a car wash, or with a pressure washer, don't be. It's robust and weather resistant, to some degree.

Obviously, residue could be there after removal. It really depends on the quality of adhesive that the part manufacturer used. There are lots of 3M counterfeits, not to say that 3M makes the only good adhesive.

Clean the area well, for best results.

[Fliplegend]

Don't worry, the 3M tape is perfect for that. The key is prepping the surface for adhesion.

[Zanity]

Its perfectly fine, wash and clay bar the area before you put it on and if you worry about the spoiler adhesive residue, just use the clay bar to clean it and it'll be as good as new. I have the 3M adhesive on my interior carbon fiber trims (see pic below). They are removable and any residue will come off easy with a trim cleaner.

[RGM330i]

I used this approach on several cars in the past (usually lip spoilers on the trunk). I just did this a week ago on my 2018 330i when I installed the M wing.

[Sportstick]

Respectfully disagree with just about every prior post. I would not rely on tape adhesives for exterior body parts. BMW makes this product for a very sound reason.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...82699408866kt/

Tape adhesives can work well if the conditions are proper. In my past managing a vehicle program at another car company, I can remember a yard full of vehicles being held as a slight change in the adhesive by the supplier of bodyside moldings without our plant knowing and adjusting the install process accordingly resulted in them peeling off as they sat in the yard. For adhesives to work properly, these factors need to be considered.

Surface temperature
Surface prep/cleanliness and what solvent used
Part temperature
Pressure duration when applying
Pressure intensity across adhesive surface

I'm not suggesting it can never work. The point is that the variables are often not within the specified range for the adhesive and you might mistakenly think the spoiler is well attached. The problem is when the guy behind you at highway speeds is the one who finds out your spoiler, at the height of his head, is not securely attached.

I'd use the Betalink for anything on the exterior.

[Korvo]

I don't remember adhesive being that hard to use.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by pdegene

I don't remember adhesive being that hard to use.

I didn't say it was hard. I pointed out that it has several fragilities and more failure modes, some of which may not be apparent at first.

[Korvo]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

I didn't say it was hard. I pointed out that it has several fragilities and more failure modes, some of which may not be apparent at first.

What failure modes are you referring to? From what I've read, in countless threads, the glue is really really hard to remove.

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651870

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by pdegene

What failure modes are you referring to? From what I've read, in countless threads, the glue is really really hard to remove.

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651870

Failures due to being applied at the wrong component temperature, surface temperature, degree and duration of pressure, surface preparation. If all is done correctly, adhesive on tape may work well, but the challenge of getting the conditions correct are greater. Over the years, this forum and for other BMW models have had reports of such aftermarket parts coming loose when applied with tape. Tape residue left behind is an independent concern from abililty to retain the part in position.

Betalink is far more robust, and is the product BMW recommends for such aftermarket purposes.

[Korvo]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Failures due to being applied at the wrong component temperature, surface temperature, degree and duration of pressure, surface preparation. If all is done correctly, adhesive on tape may work well, but the challenge of getting the conditions correct are greater. Over the years, this forum and for other BMW models have had reports of such aftermarket parts coming loose when applied with tape. Tape residue left behind is an independent concern from abililty to retain the part in position.

Betalink is far more robust, and is the product BMW recommends for such aftermarket purposes.

I guess I don't agree with that. This tape is designed to be applied over a wide range of temperature/humidity conditions. It wasn't engineered to only work if both parts are 72 degrees. There are obvious limits with extreme temperatures, but this tape can be applied even around 32 degrees, successfully.

Pressure is very important with adhesive, but how much do you really need? Adhesive needs time to wet out, and an initial pressure helps this process.

Cleaning is the step most people skip and it's the most important. Never use something like wax right before. You need to clean with isopropyl, not speed shine or detailing cleaner.

My dad and I have been using tape to apply spoilers to both paint and glass for years. Never experienced a failure. If you can use adhesive properly, which isn't that hard to do, it offers you more flexibility if something happens to the wing or trunk lid down the road. We've even removed them, years later, with no issues and an intact spoiler which could be sold.

From the sounds of it, glue results in a broken spoiler and a paint nightmare, if you decide to remove it.

[Zanity]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Failures due to being applied at the wrong component temperature, surface temperature, degree and duration of pressure, surface preparation.

Arn't all these user error you just mentioned ? Anything will not work with user error though lol. I'm not disagreeing with you, you are probably a professional who knows what you're talking about.

[Sportstick]

Again, I am not saying adhesive tape products don't work. Clearly, from my earlier post, we relied upon such in OEM production in our plants with good success for more than hundreds of thousands of vehicles. However, the conditions were tightly controlled and when a variation occurred, a failure followed. In the wider variations of conditions in DIY installations, the chances for failure are greater. I can't recite the specs for each adhesive tape product, but as a category, they are less robust than something such as Betalink. We can each manage risk as we best see fit, but Betalink is demonstrably the more secure methodology.

[Korvo]

I agree with your last sentence. I'm not saying that tape is stronger than glue and I never did. I had two main points:

Tape offers the user flexibility if they need to remove it years down the road.

Tape isn't as hard to use/apply as you're misleading people to believe.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by pdegene

I agree with your last sentence. I'm not saying that tape is stronger than glue and I never did. I had two main points:

Tape offers the user flexibility if they need to remove it years down the road.

Tape isn't as hard to use/apply as you're misleading people to believe.

Again, I never stated nor implied that tape is hard to use or apply. I stated that it has more risk of failure after seeming to adhere very easily. If my words were read as written, there should be no one mislead.

[Korvo]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Again, I never stated nor implied that tape is hard to use or apply. I stated that it has more risk of failure after seeming to adhere very easily. If my words were read as written, there should be no one mislead.

Right, but it fails if it's not applied well, based on every post you've made... talking about every surface application factor you could think of...

Now you didn't make that argument?

[upsidedownfunnel]

Without getting too technical, those adhesives can fail in extremely cold or extremely hot temperatures. But probably not for as long as you'll own it.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by pdegene

Right, but it fails if it's not applied well, based on every post you've made... talking about every surface application factor you could think of...

Now you didn't make that argument?

I'm surprised that you are attempting to contort this discussion from the simplicity with which it started. Let's review what was actually stated.

I did not need to reach far to understand the variables. These were explained by adhesive experts to us when we had the large volume failure at a plant and I shared what I recalled.

I have made no comments about the ease of installation. I pointed out more than once what variables are at play, perhaps unknown to the naive installer who simply and happily goes about a seemingly easy DIY project in their driveway. But, for those who apply the part as best they can, I have not identified any difficulties which make it burdensome, just risk factors.

It is at some later time that one of those variables may make themselves apparent as a root cause of a subsequent failure, and the failure can be catastrophic, particularly to the following vehicle.

Failure may very much mean it was not applied well. But, that has no correlation to the degree of difficulty the original installer experienced. I presume most just clean the surface and apply the part without knowing much more about what the actual factors are.

[jamesdak]

LOL, this is like the usual arguments on the bike forums about glue or tape for tubular tires. Just sayin...

[Moupe]

Can't we all just get along?! Chet mayn!

[limited60]

I guess I should have also added that I'm in Calgary, Canada where we have some pretty broad temperature ranges. Winter temperatures can hit -40 F/C and summers can reach +35C / 95F.

Obviously I wouldn't install any adhesives in -40...but even with the ideal install temperature being observed, I feel the +- 75 degree swings would lead to premature failure.

[big_josh]

Originally Posted by Zanity

Its perfectly fine, wash and clay bar the area before you put it on and if you worry about the spoiler adhesive residue, just use the clay bar to clean it and it'll be as good as new. I have the 3M adhesive on my interior carbon fiber trims (see pic below). They are removable and any residue will come off easy with a trim cleaner.

I'm looking into doing this interior trim update. Where did you get your trim kit? Thanks!