Body panel adhesive?

My wife backed into the right rear corner of my 2019 Tahoe which caused the lower plastic side panel to separate. The painted panel appears to have been attached to the plastic mounting piece at the wheel well by heat spot-welding the plastic. I believe I can reattach the 2 pieces with some body panel adhesive but don’t know what type adhesive to use. Can anyone advise what I should use?

The attached photo was taken looking up from the right rear corner toward the tire. The piece with the speed clips and screws on the left was originally attached in the rectangular marked area of the body panel on the right. If you look closely you can see sections of raised dots on the speed clip piece (on the left). Below those dots in the rectangular area (on the right) is where it was welded to the body panel, with the dots being the spot welds.

not sure swing by a body shop and ask them or go to a body shop supply (commercial paint) store and ask them

those are just push to insert tabs...go give it a bump and see if they reattach

They really are not. Those are simply alignment tabs against which the bracket rests. Only the tall tab has a provision to insert the bracket, but again, it’s only for alignment not for attachment. The dots on each piece are where the two pieces of plastic were welded from the factory.

3M body panel adhesive (with the special gun) or just get a $20 tube of TigerSeal. You can use a regular caulk gun for that. I have both and use both for various things. The TigerSeal is a urethane adhesive and works great holding Lear “OEM” lookalike fender flares to my NNBS Tahoe after the 3M tape failed.
Just remember to clean, abrade, and clean the surface again prior to apply the adhesive. Have a plan to hold it tight for about 24hrs in your garage. Consider the temperature limitations of the adhesives.

trailblazer said:

3M body panel adhesive (with the special gun) or just get a $20 tube of TigerSeal. You can use a regular caulk gun for that. I have both and use both for various things. The TigerSeal is a urethane adhesive and works great holding Lear “OEM” lookalike fender flares to my NNBS Tahoe after the 3M tape failed.
Just remember to clean, abrade, and clean the surface again prior to apply the adhesive. Have a plan to hold it tight for about 24hrs in your garage. Consider the temperature limitations of the adhesives.

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Thanks!

The

The Tiger Seal worked great! The instructions said to chemically degrease but not to abrade the surface (which seems odd). I cleaned with alcohol and clamped it 24 hours to fully cure. The remaining adhesive in the tube will cure quickly if exposed at all to air. It’s good to have several projects ready so as not to waste the rest of the $20+ tube. Recommended application and cure temp range is 60–90 degrees @ 50% humidity or better.

it seems comparable to 3M 5200 adhesive sealant that we use on the boat. Wear disposable gloves with both products!

About a year ago I used J.B. Weld for a similar repair when my LW pulled the rear bumper loose on her rx350, tearing all the connection tabs. After applying it to bumper and quarter panel lips where the tabs were torn I used Gorilla extra strength tape to hold everything in place until the epoxy was fully cured and set. Worked like a charm. Downside: The bumper is now permanently attached to the rear quarter panel.