Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Just got a set of the under bonnet foams. None on the car currently. How do people stick / what do you use for these. Thought about double sided tape; any better ideas please?
Harry

Depends what sort of foam you have, i used Evo stick to put mine on but i know it melts some foam's, you could also use Spray on contact adhesive be be aware it tends to get everywhere if your not careful. If you do use contact adhesive of any sort test it on a spare bit of foam first to see if it melts.

Double sided tape is fine on the flat surfaces but doesn't stick very well to area's like the under side of the bonnet where it's rough grp.

Mine came with a peel off self adhesive strip. Not particularly helpful to OP but I thought they all came like it.

They arrived this morning from Sue Miller. I had thought they would be self adhesive but not so. Happy to use my own tape if that is best solution.

iirc I used uphostery grade (3M) neoprene.

No self adhesive on the stuff I bought from PM's. I used spray on carpet type glue (mainly because I already had a can) and that's been fine for years. A messy job though.

I generally use high temperature silcone sealant

cheers
Rohan

I always use spray on carpet contact adhesive, masking off the surrounding area and applying it to both surfaces. I use panel wipe and a bit of sanding on the underside of the bonnet before applying. Never had an issue with any of our cars over many years - the foam deteriorates before the glue!

https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/category/304/adhesive
Foam is light so gravity shouldn't come into it but if using felt the heat resistant glues are needed. The heat resistant aerosol looks a good bet for either. Easy to use too.

Derek UK

I'm considering the same thing so this is useful.
I was considering double sided carpet tape as it has more 'body' than standard ds tape.
I haven't checked my foam for reaction to contact adhesives.
Bought my foam locally - much cheaper than usual suspects.

The other thing to look for is the life of the foam, not sure how you judge this but I've seen a lot of crumbling old foam over the years, the foam in the 'A' pillar of my +2S being a classic example.

Just to return on this .... I found I had some strong tacky double sided tape in the garage, the sort of thing that you would perhaps use for carpets maybe. Seems to have done the job nicely for now.

Lots more question will follow as I work my way through the car!
Harry

That's good to hear as I was thinking of using that.
When you think about it most of the time the foam doesn't need anything as it's sandwiched between rad and hood, so adhesive only needed occasionally for short periods.