Futuristic grey sedan on a black background
Solutions at the crossroad of design and efficiency

Enjoy more design freedom and optimize manufacturing processes for automotive exteriors and glass applications with the help of 3M solutions.

CONNECT WITH A 3M EXPERT

3M solutions for automotive exteriors and glass

When it comes to designing the exterior of a vehicle, many different challenges come into play. These include bonding of dissimilar substrates, overall design and craftsmanship, NVH-T needs, and surface protection. For glass, it’s about cabin comfort and energy efficiency. Aesthetics and brand differentiation are also key goals, especially in the competitive automotive market.

Stay on top of industry trends, add design flexibility and boost productivity with automotive exteriors and glass solutions from 3M. Explore adhesives formulated for a broad range of challenging substrates and go beyond mechanical fastening with innovative bonding and sealing solutions. Fit and finish your vision with appealing bond lines that stay true even in harsh environments.

At 3M, we’re always looking ahead and will continue to forge the future of automotive design, along with our industry partners.

Assembly

  • Futuristic orange sports car with intricate exterior details

    Streamline assembly from start to finish

    Material compositions used in automotive exteriors are evolving. The inclusion of recycled plastics, dissimilar materials and advanced paint systems have all made bonding a challenge. You need durable, reliable bonding and sealing for complex surfaces, watertight sealing and more. You also need aesthetically pleasing bond lines to complete the look. 3M can help.

    3M offers a wide range of solutions and expertise for modern automotive assembly, from demonstration capabilities in automated and semi-automated manufacturing to manual assembly tools that help boost efficiency like rollers, liner strip-off tools, stretch laminators, unwind assemblies and more.

3M solutions for assembly in exteriors and glass

  • Product shot of acrylic foam tape for automotive exteriors

    Optimize trim attachment and production

    Easily integrate tapes into automated and semi-automated assembly lines. Our most recent lines of tapes feature strong, break-resistant liners and balanced liner release, making the tapes compatible with robotic processes.

    3M Acrylic Foam Tapes for OEM and Tier

  • Improve process efficiency in glass applications

    Attach components faster with pre-applied bonding tape. OEM hardware combined with 3M™ Structural Bonding Tape includes rain sensor, humidity control, camera and combo brackets, mirror buttons and more. The hardware and adhesive work together in manual or automated manufacturing or available autoclave processes.

    3M Tape Attached Hardware for OEM and Tier

  • Bond to medium- and low-surface-energy materials

    Medium- and low-surface-energy materials can sometimes require extra adhesion. Enhance tape performance and bond to challenging surfaces such as PVC compounds, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyolefin-based substrates with adhesion promoters from 3M. Apply using a variety of methods including applicators, wipes, rollers and more.

    3M Adhesion Promoters for OEM and Tier

  • Product shot of a 3M Flange Unwind Assembly
    Complete the job fast with manual assembly tools

    The equipment you use to apply attachment tapes is crucial for your process efficiency. Explore specialized manual application equipment solutions from 3M, including rollers with tunable clutches for consistent wet out and our 3M™ Flange Unwind Assembly, which makes for smooth, even unwinding and liner removal on single or multiple tape rolls.

    3M Tape Applicator and Dispenser Parts and Accessories for OEM and Tier

    3M Roller Tools for OEM and Tier

  • Family product shot of various splicing and tabbing tapes for automotive exteriors
    Tab and splice with ease

    Decrease the time and effort needed for tape application. Use tabbing tapes to smoothly remove liners and splicing tapes to splice or join multiple pieces together. These tapes are either heat-bonded or pressure sensitive, and intended for use with 3M™ Acrylic Foam Tapes or 3M™ Acrylic Plus Tapes.

    3M Splicing and Tabbing Tapes for OEM and Tier

Design flexibility

  • An intricate and detailed rear quarter panel on a futuristic vehicle

    Expand your design toolkit

    Designing tomorrow’s vehicle exterior is all about bold choices and forging trends. 3M can help provide more design options in exterior and glass applications to help you bring your latest vision to life.

    Attachment options from 3M can support clean aesthetics and give you confidence even with challenging surfaces and shapes. Help your brand stand out in the marketplace with body contrast films and blackout films that deliver exceptional accents and style. Address NVH-T and improve overall cabin experience with acoustic insulation. You’ll even find opportunities for process improvement with pre-applied structural tapes.

3M solutions for design flexibility in exteriors and glass

  • Birds eye view of a white SUV on a concrete slab

    Find new looks with film

    From the drawing board to the roll-out, you want to protect and enhance automotive exterior designs and tell your brand story — do it with design and functional films from 3M. Whether it’s two-tone designs, exterior trims or the whole car, you can replace paint processes in areas where they prove costly and inefficient. Design freely with the look of stainless steel without spending on the real thing.

    3M Paint Replacement Films for OEM and Tier

    3M Vehicle Trims and Moldings for OEM and Tier

  • Product shot of acrylic foam tapes for automotive exteriors.

    Do more with trim attachment

    Find new aesthetic and performance possibilities for attaching trim, badges or emblems. Solutions like 3M™ Die-Cuttable Tape Series DC2000 delivers high resistance to pluck and torque forces normally associated with the attachment of nameplates and emblems.

    3M Acrylic Foam Tapes for OEM and Tier

Personalization

  • Bold rear windshield on a modern sedan.

    Stand out from the crowd

    Your vehicle offers many opportunities to communicate differentiation and brand identity. Find new possibilities to showcase your unique features and benefits and help your design break through the noise.

    Boost design flexibility and even reduce process steps with our range of attachment and sealing solutions. Make each vehicle memorable thanks to a variety of aesthetics offered by trim and molding films. You can even offer trim packages with quieter, more comfortable cabins with innovative acoustic solutions.

3M solutions for personalization in exteriors and glass

  • Improve passenger experience with acoustic insulation

    Treat customers to quieter roads ahead. 3M offers acoustic insulation solutions to help manage road and tire noise, shed weight and more.

    3M Acoustic Insulation for OEM and Tier

  • Boost curb appeal with tape attachment options

    Tapes allow the seamless attachment of exterior trim parts such as badges and emblems. They enable smooth bond lines and won't disrupt the aesthetics, unlike pins and clips. Find the look you need with a variety of automotive acrylic foam tapes from 3M.

    3M Acrylic Foam Tapes for OEM and Tier

Durability

  • Birds eye view of 3M adhesive highlighted in red, showing the bonding of a moon roof to various material types.

    Materials made for the long road ahead

    The road is unforgiving. Over time, weather and normal use can lead to damage caused by UV exposure, hail, scratches, chips or auto fluid stains across the vehicle exterior. Shouldn’t your materials help hold up to environmental challenges?

    At 3M, we offer many different materials to help promote durability. Instead of punching holes in the sheet metal, you can create a continuous seal using adhesive, to keep the airflow, dust and water outside of the vehicle and keep all the airflow, dust and water outside. Resist chipping, scratching, staining and discoloration (yellowing) to protect paint and other vulnerable surfaces with films.

3M solutions for durability in exteriors and glass

  • Product shot of acrylic foam tapes for automotive exteriors.

    Skip the clips, maintain a strong bond

    Attach delicate components like thin sensor frames with confidence. Eliminate potential of read-through caused by ultrasonic welding. Acrylic foam tapes from 3M can help you do more.

    3M Acrylic Foam Tapes for OEM and Tier

    Still using mechanical fasteners? Using a tape for seal attachment provides continuous, secure attachment of the seal compared to mechanical attachments alone. Avoid potential corrosion and vibration, and buzz, squeak and rattle (BSR) issues.

    At 3M, we offer tapes designed for attaching door seals, weatherstripping and gasket materials like ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber/thermoplastic elastomers (EPDM/TPE) and Santoprene® thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV), neoprene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to automotive exterior surfaces.

  • Santoprene® is a registered trademark of Celanese.

Functionality/protection

  • Close-up of intricate detailing on a driver-side door.

    Achieve your vision. Protect it, too.

    You look to enhance and maintain a vehicle’s appearance with cutting-edge design. You also need to protect paint on vulnerable surfaces like wheel flares and rocker panels from external environmental elements like dust and moisture. 3M is here to help.

    With film from 3M, the possibilities for exterior design and protection seem endless. Enjoy long-term aesthetics with exterior trim film. With robust weatherability and strong, reliable adhesion, paint replacement films enable designs intended to last the life of the vehicle. 

3M solutions for functionality and protection in exteriors and glass

  • Close-up of the bond lines on the passenger side of a blue sedan.

    Boost efficiency when fastening to glass

    Our tapes incorporate advanced adhesives designed to bond quickly to glass with no added fixturing needed. The tapes are die cut and pre-applied to hardware such as rearview mirror components and sensor brackets to improve process efficiency.

    3M Tape Attached Hardware for OEM and Tier

Sustainability

  • A futuristic electric grey coupe at a campsite surrounded by forest

    Accelerate your sustainability goals

    At 3M, we understand sustainability goals may look different from one OEM to the next. Whether you’re working with a new regulation or are appealing to customer trends, 3M can help you with a range of design needs across exteriors and glass applications.

    Reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) use, explore lighter-weight parts, reduce manufacturing impact, increase recycled content and more. 3M has many different options for you to work toward your sustainability targets.

  • Product shot of acrylic foam tapes for automotive exteriors.

    Try primerless attachment

    Help simplify the production process and reduce the cost of chemical disposal, labor and equipment associated with primer usage with 3M™ Acrylic Foam Tape PX5000 Series. It can also  help with the cost of poor quality when primer is improperly applied.

    3M Acrylic Foam Tapes for OEM and Tier

  • Options for sound management with sustainability benefits

    Our range of acoustic solutions not only help you mitigate noise across key frequencies, they can help lightweight your vehicle. Products like 3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB Series contain at least 15% renewable resources, and feature low VOCs and low fogging for added benefits.

    3M Acoustic Insulation for OEM and Tier

    *Odor results only applicable to 3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB0910 and 3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB1210.

  • Three piles of glass bubbles

    Lightweight your vehicle with glass bubbles

    Extend EV battery range and more. 3M™ Glass Bubbles replace heavy fillers in a range of automotive applications, including thermoplastic parts, adhesives, sealants and composites, and can handle processes like injection molding, to help reduce weight. Find them in in a range of densities, compressive strengths and particle sizes.

    3M Glass Bubbles for OEM and Tier

  • Close-up of a complex heads-up display

    Some of today’s most advanced vehicles call for the windshield to function as an information display. You need crisp, clear information to seamlessly help the driver day and night, and display systems ready to endure solar heat.

    Manage light and heat with reflective films from 3M. They can help increase brightness and contrast, and even reflect harmful infrared light away from critical electronics.

Close  

Automotive design and technical expertise on a global scale

Almost since the first automobiles, 3M continues to develop new materials to help our customers create new possibilities. That means our world-class design, technical and engineering expertise just comes with the territory. If you have a design in mind, we’ll help you make it happen. If you have a particular bonding and sealing challenge, we can help you solve it. Let’s work together on the future of automotive design and manufacturing.