Is the 3M VHB Adhesive Fake?

AndrewL

AndrewL

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One of my gripes of an otherwise great camera is the poor adhesive. It's a noticeable grey color and it's much weaker than other 3M VHB adhesives I've used. I've compared the A119 against the A118 and from FineVU. I understand there are different types of VHB adhesives but I don't think this is one of those exceptions.

I've looked online and there's little information comparing real vs fake 3M VHB. Pier28 has previously said "The "fake" cheap rolls of double sided adhesives out there (some come with lower priced dashcam products) have real glue in it and is a nightmare to remove." I haven't removed my camera yet and it seems it might fall under that category.

Anyone more knowledgeable shine some light on this?



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I don't know about real vs fake 3m VHB adhesive, but I removed my A119 camera mount from my windshield today to install the gps mount. I cut through the adhesive with dental floss and was able to easily remove the residual adhesive still stuck to my windshield. The only issue I had was the dental floss kept breaking on me.
 
I installed the GPS logger on the windshield and repositioned it at least 4 times and once or twice after 2 days in the hot sun. No issues, no residue and sticks like new.

Make sure surface is clean (dust / oil free)
 
Fyl said:
I installed the GPS logger on the windshield and repositioned it at least 4 times and once or twice after 2 days in the hot sun. No issues, no residue and sticks like new.

Make sure surface is clean (dust / oil free)
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It should take 2 or 3 weeks for the glue to set so that it is impossible to reposition.

AndrewL said:
I've looked online and there's little information comparing real vs fake 3M VHB. Pier28 has previously said "The "fake" cheap rolls of double sided adhesives out there (some come with lower priced dashcam products) have real glue in it and is a nightmare to remove." I haven't removed my camera yet and it seems it might fall under that category.

Anyone more knowledgeable shine some light on this?
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Some of the adhesive pads I have received with other cameras have not had the 3M logo on the red backing and it tends to be more white than grey so is a lot more visible from outside. I guess that is what Pier28 was talking about?

I suspect if it has the 3M logo then it is probably from 3M. Copying a trademark to help sell your product is illegal everywhere and you are not going to be able to make adhesive pads competitively without having a large scale operation with large customers who will know the source, its just not going to make sense to try and copy 3M tape with the 3M logo printed on it.
 
I've wondered the same thing, very well might be.
 
Nigel said:
I suspect if it has the 3M logo then it is probably from 3M. Copying a trademark to help sell your product is illegal everywhere and you are not going to be able to make adhesive pads competitively without having a large scale operation with large customers who will know the source, its just not going to make sense to try and copy 3M tape with the 3M logo printed on it.
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It seems you forgot that you are dealing with China. They utilize R&D (Remember & Duplicate) technology and printing on a piece of plastic is dirt cheap. When the cheapo cam makers cut 3 cents off the production cost by using a known defective part instead of a better one, with all of the counterfeiting, and pure junk that is sold from China by the millions I am pretty sure that fake 3M tape would have a ready market from those who want to cut costs to a minimum and have no concerns about quality or anything except for the one time sale profits.

China has a simple attitude... Copyright? What copyright? I do not know about any stinkin' copyrights. Patent? What patent? I KNOW NOTHING! about any patents. I saw it, I can build it cheaper and crappier.
 
I got these with SJCam 4000 wifi ... notice the adhesive removal wire (made of fine stainless steel):

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Our 3M adhesive is offered by 3M authorized proxy.
 
viofo said:
Our 3M adhesive is offered by 3M authorized proxy.
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Good to know but the grey adhesive seems to be unpopular and IMO weaker than any of the adhesives used in the past. Is there a reason you switched to the new adhesive? Will there be a new adhesive in the future?
 
AndrewL said:
Good to know but the grey adhesive seems to be unpopular and IMO weaker than any of the adhesives used in the past. Is there a reason you switched to the new adhesive? Will there be a new adhesive in the future?
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Weaker how? I've broken plastic mounts and exterior factory badges (like the ones on the trunk lid) just by trying to remove them when they'd been attached with gray 3m tape.

Yes black tape would look nicer on some vehicles where there's no dots or tinted area at the top to help hide them, but @viofo has stated that the black tape is thinner and thus does not stick well on some windshields with more curve than average. Thicker tape allows for wider range of vehicle fitment right out of the box.
 
Gibson99 said:
Weaker how? I've broken plastic mounts and exterior factory badges (like the ones on the trunk lid) just by trying to remove them when they'd been attached with gray 3m tape.

Yes black tape would look nicer on some vehicles where there's no dots or tinted area at the top to help hide them, but @viofo has stated that the black tape is thinner and thus does not stick well on some windshields with more curve than average. Thicker tape allows for wider range of vehicle fitment right out of the box.
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Weaker if you twist or other bump the camera. No other tape I've seen has moved as much as the A119. Now I recognize that it may be up to the task and other camera brands are overkill, that's just my perception from every other brand of mounts I've seen.

I directly compared the Thinkware F50 and A119 in the video. I could not get the F50 to budget whereas the A119 had significant movement. I didn't see the post about the thicker tape increasing fitment and it would also make sense that the fit would also be looser as you are increasing the amount of material. Great clarification.
 
a lot depends on which model tape is used, some have a foam layer between the two adhesive surfaces specifically to allow for some flex, others are more rigid
 
I wish they had gone with black or at least provided it as an option. They grey sticks out poorly with my vehicle (I am sure many others as well) and I will be looking into replacing it for some black 3M tape.
 
Both the a118 and a119 have a little slack between the mount and the body of the camera which has nothing to do with the adhesive. Were you comparing rigidity of the mount to the glass or the camera to the mount?
 
3M™ VHB™ Tape Families:

4941 - This family utilizes multi-purpose acrylic adhesive on both sides of conformable foam. The adhesive provides excellent adhesion to a broad range of high and medium surface energy substrates including metals, glass, and a wide variety of plastics, as well as plasticized vinyl. The conformable foam provides good contact, even with mismatched substrates. Available in gray and black.

5952 - This family matches the modified acrylic adhesive on both sides of very conformable foam, providing adhesion to the broadest range of substrates, including most powder coated paints. Available in black.

4950 - This family has general purpose adhesive on both sides of firm type foam. This family is typically used on metal, glass and high surface energy plastic substrates. Available in white and black.

4945 - This family has multi-purpose adhesive on both sides of firm foam. Available in white.

4910 - This family of clear tapes is excellent for applications where clear or colorless is desired. The general purpose adhesive on both sides is suitable for high surface energy substrates.

4951 - This family of tapes is based around the low temperature appliable acrylic adhesive system, utilized on both firm and conformable foam types. These products are suitable for high surface energy substrates. Available in white (firm foam) and gray (conformable foam).

4952 - This family utilizes the low surface energy adhesive on a firm foam. Available in white.

4611 - This family has a general purpose adhesive on both sides of firm foam. This family of tapes is typically used on metal substrates, and has the added feature of high temperature resistance, making it often suitable for bonding prior to high temperature paint processing. Available in dark gray.

4622 - This family has general purpose adhesive on the face side (the side that typically would be bonded first) and multi-purpose adhesive on the liner side (the side exposed when the release liner is removed) of a conformable foam. Available in white.
 
I used black 6383 3M tape with success in the past.
aad-product-images.JPG

A range of black, high performance, double-coated acrylic foam tapes. These OEM approved tapes are designed for reliable attachment of a wide variety of automotive exterior and interior trim, including body side mouldings, claddings, rocker panel mouldings, wheel flares, bumper trim and most other automotive trim.
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The reason why I used this particular tape is simply because it was available off the shelf in automotive paint supply shop for reasonable price (it also works great for body mouldings ;)).
 
I've mounted my dashcam with the grey adhesive tape and haven't noticed any sort of movement in my video or when touching the camera. Granted, I haven't had as much exposure to other tapes as you have, but it seems to get the job done.
 
Grey Tape. reminds me of a friend that used to say it quickly/fast and morph it into Great Ape and "Grape" Ape .. >>>>
 
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