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Panel Bonding
Wherever a full welding process is not possible or not desired to fit a non-structural replacement part to a car, you can easily use the 3M Panel Bonding Repair process.
Modern materials such as composites or high strength steel require modern methods.
High strength steel only tolerate a certain degree of heat input, otherwise they loose integrity. Composite materials or joining different alloys or metals to eachother virtually becomes impossible with common welding technologies. Repair instructions from manufacturers get more complex.
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Bonding processes grow in importance - they replace the traditional welding process and offer many advantages. No heat input is necessary, different materials can easily be joined and application is fast and simple.
Our OEM approved 3M™ Panel Bonding Adhesive comes with lifetime warranty against corrosion, when used according to directions for use. It enables you to join non-structural body parts at room temperature and can also be weld-bonded or rivet-bonded for additional strength.
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Panel and structural bonding products
Discover our range of panel and structural bonding products to help achieve high quality, efficient repairs in your bodyshop.
How to bond panels together without welding
Step-by-step process guide to bond car panels together without the need of welding.
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Step 1 - Host panel preparation
- Remove remaining material and contminants from host panel. Prep remaining mating flanges on host panel with a Scotch-Brite™ Belt or Disc.
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Step 2 - Cleaning of the host panel surface
- Degreasing host panel mating flange areas with 3M™ Professional Panel Wipes and 3M™ General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner.
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Step 3 - Replacement panel preparation
- Remove Ecoat from replacement panel mating flange areas using Scotch-Brite™ Belt.
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Step 4 - Cleaning of the replacement panel surface
- Degreasing replacement panel mating flange areas with 3M™ Professional Panel Wipes and 3M™ General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner.
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Step 5 - Corrosion protection
- Apply weld-thru primer to all areas on host panel and replacement panel requiring welding operations, exept the areas for bonding.
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Step 6 - Calibration of a new cartridge
- Insert the cartridge into a suitable application gun.
- Before attaching the mixer to the cartridge, squeeze out a small amount of material until both components are equally extruded.
- Attach the mixing nozzle and discard the first 2-4 cm of extruded material, as this might not be fully mixed.
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Note: The previous step is only necessary when using a new cartridge. When reusing a previously used cartridge, the previous ste is not necessary.
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Step 7 - Application
- Apply adhesive to mating flange areas on host panel and replacement panel, covering all bare metal areas.
- Apply an additional bead of adhesive at mating flange areas to ensure proper bond line thickness.
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Step 8 - Install replacement panel
- Install replacement panel to host panel by clamping in place.
- Apply required welds on rear vertical seams, cosmetic joints, or where otherwise recommended by the directions for use, or the car manufacturer.
Note: Follow recommended adhesive clamp times.
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Step 9 - Adhesive clean up
- Tool excess adhesive squeeze-out from repair area prior to curing to seal the repair.
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Note: Grinding to remove excess adhesive can expose bare metal, causing corrosion.
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Technical tips for panel and structural bonding
Here are some valuable insights into specific challenges surrounding panel and structural bonding, including quick tips on preventing common issues such as....
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When to use panel bond adhesive?
Customer Challenge:
Repair instructions from car manufacturers get more complex. Composite materials or joining different alloys or metals to each other virtually becomes impossible with common welding technologies.
Technical Tip:
3M™ Panel Bonding Adhesive is developed for bonding quarter panels, roofs skins, box sides, van sides, utility vehicle sides and door skins — anywhere that requires a lasting bond for outer body panels - as specified by car manufactures.
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Bonding instead of welding
Customer Challenge:
Hybrid joining processes (bonding + riveting) and high-performance bonding processes are gaining popularity. Modern vehicle bodies consist of a large number of steel alloys with different properties, which leads to much more complex repair processes and variants per car manufacturer.
Technical Tip:
3M™ Panel Bonding Adhesive is the result of years of laboratory development. Our scientists pioneered "bondline control" in the collision repair market, incorporating glass beads into our adhesive formula that work as built-in spacers for optimal bond line thicknesses. It enables you to join non-structural body parts at room temperature and can also be weld-bonded or rivet-bonded for additional strength.
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When to use a structural adhesive?
Customer Challenge:
There are different areas on a car body which have different functions for the safety and crash resistance properties of the vehicle. Therefore it´s nessessary to use different adhesive properties on the different areas of the car body, especially when impact resistance ahesives are needed on structural parts of the car body.
Technical Tip:
There are many factors that can affect an individual repair, so the technician and repair facility need to evaluate each specific application and repair process and determine what’s appropriate. 3M recommends referring to relevant vehicle repair and OEM guidelines prior to starting all repairs. When following OEM recommendations, using structural adhesives can deliver many benefits including consistent load distribution and joining of dissimilar substrates. Structural adhesives are typically used in conjunction with mechanical fasteners or welds. 3M™ Impact Resistant Structural Adhesive (IRSA) is one of the few adhesives designed specifically to meet the demands of collision absorption in OEM-specified structural bonding applications.
Watch Webinars Anytime Anywhere
Join the 3M Collision Repair Webinar Hub and hear first hand from our experts:
- New industry standards, new products and technologies
- Updated car repair standard operating procedures
- New design solutions for the collision repair industry
Discover more from 3M
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Remember to always select appropriate Personal Protective Equipment - Eyewear, gloves, hearing and respiratory protection for your job and workplace!
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We don't just have solutions for panel and structural bonding. See our extensive range of solutions for all your car repair needs!
