My face of wife’s glove box on her 2013 SLK 250 has separated from the door. I am pretty handy
(piano rebuilder) and it looks like it will reattach cleanly. Any recommendations for the best adhesive for this job? MTIA!
Cyanoacrylate - or Super Glue, more commonly.
Don’t expect this to work but it can’t hurt to try.
I have played this game before with very limited success with structural failures. It is better solved by buying a new part.
Thank you Mustangman for the quick reply. I’m familiar with CA from my industry and that or maybe a urethane seem the best options. It is a good fit, not broken or torn and seems like it will glue and clamp securely. Trying this before I price replacement options from MB which I’m sure would be world shaking price wise…
I use 2 part plastic epoxy.
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Thank you!
I would suggest a compliant adhesive, post cure. A single part rtv has excellent adhesion and will survive expansion and contraction forces due to difference in material thermal expansion properties. It will also fill gaps better than a hard curing adhesive.
Gorilla glue
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I second the Gorilla Glue idea.
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Or 3M 5200 or Goop.
I like the loctite 2 part plastic bonder, it does very well on hard plastic, Shoe goo my second go to
That is my go-to for hard plastics like a radio cabinet; but I think here he is trying to bond the plastic face of the door to the metal structure.
Thank you all. Actually both the face and the door itself are plastic.
If the surfaces are hard plastic (like a radio cabinet) that fit together without gaps, that Loctite 2-part is probably good. One part is like a magic marker, you paint it on and wait a bit. Then the second part, a liquid, is spread on and you hold or clamp the parts together. It rehabbed a good radio with many broken plastic structural parts. Very impressive.
I used the 2 part epoxy that you mix together to bond plastic pieces together in our dishwasher. My plan was to find the plastic parts off a scrap piece at work and replace those glued parts. I did get replacement parts, but I didn’t use them because the parts that I glued wouldn’t detach very easily, so I left them alone. I’m not sure what the exact brand or chemical type is that I used, but it’s generally what I use when I have to resort to gluing something together. It’s the 2 part stuff, comes in a syringe, and it heats up and smells pretty noxious when you mix it.
I’d go with something flexible, like RTV or polyurethane. Really, lots of adhesives will work. The big thing is surface preparation. Make sure both surfaces are completely clean, then apply the adhesive as described in the manufacturer’s literature. You probably want to clamp the glove box and face piece for twenty four hours to make sure the cure is complete.
I had similar problem with face/backing separation of the glove box cover in my 13-years old Nissan Pathfinder.
I tried super-glue (failed) and epoxy (failed after longer time).
What holds it for last year is a lot of Bondo 2-component putty, which I happen to have on hands: literally filled the insides between the backing and the front 
I’ve never had much luck with the normal type of super-glue (CA) on plastic. I’ve had good luck with it on metal, but plastic, not so much. A special type of super glue with an accelerant is supposed to work well on rear view mirrors that stick to the windshield, but I’ve never had much luck with method lasting more than a few years. The last time I did it on my truck I used JB Weld instead, and that seems to be lasting. 6 years as I recall. So if you want to use a glue you can buy in most any hardware store, I’m recommending JB Weld or some 2-part-epoxy equivalent.
I recommened gorilia glue as every thing I have used it on has never come apart make sure you get right because once it set’s up you will have to break it to get apart again.
3M Marine Adhesive.
I’m going to say that I don’t know much about plastics but there are a number of types that require a different glue. I was making sliding windows for the kid’s playhouse once and needed to bond pvc for a handle to plexiglass. The only thing I found that worked was pvc cement like for plumbing and electrical pipe. Doubt that will work here but like everything, identification of the plastic is 90% of the solution.