Vauxhall Workshop Service and Repair Manuals

Body Repair Work by Means of Bonding and Welding  

"Bonding" means the joining of similar of different types of material by means of an inorganic or organic substance at room temperature or with moderate heating. The practical application of the bonding method is restricted to fully stressed parts of the body (e.g. external quarter panel). Bearing parts, e.g. frames, supports are excluded from this application.  

From Model Year 1998, the external quarter panels and wheel housing will be bonded at rear of the wheel cutout with packing adhesive - instead of using spot welding.  

The costs of repair work and the maintenance of a vehicle have a significant influence on its attraction to customers and hence on competitiveness.  

Therefore it is advisable to monitor the development of these costs continuously and to develop operating methods for reducing costs.  

The bonding technology developed by Opel and matched to the requirements of body repair work is the logical consequence of the consideration how to adopt modern techniques which have been found to be expedient and cost-reducing in other branches of industry, e.g. the aircraft industry, so they are useful for automobile technology and to implement them with success.  

Body Repair Work by Means of Bonding and Welding (Continued)  

The Service department supplies the corrosion protection adhesive sealing system as a set.   The new product is the familiar 2-pack adhesive used when replacing the outer panelling (doors).   The adhesive is applied using the familiar BETAGUN 2000 (1).   This guarantees at 100% blending of the two adhesive components.   Content of the bonding set   2   Activator   3   Two nozzles   4   Mixing head   5   Cleaning rags   6   Cartridge of adhesive component A - 125 ml   7   Cartridge adhesive component B - 125 ml

Body Repair Work by Means of Bonding and Welding (Continued)  

General  

In production plants the outer door panel, door frame, outside and inside rear quarter panels in the wheel housing area, fuel filler port and rear lamp insert are assembled additionally using putty adhesive with reduced spot welding. The remaining flanges will continue to be machined as before.

Body Repair Work by Means of Bonding and Welding (Continued)  

Description of Work and Application:  

 

•  Note the regulations regarding occupational safety (see parts and product characteristics)     •  Remove add-on parts and quarter panel     •  Remove residual adhesive from the inside of the quarter panel and grind down adherent surface to bare metal     Notice:  The adhesive in the area of separating points / edge welds should be protected from burning by applying thermal insulation paste to the adjacent sheet metal.

Body Repair Work by Means of Bonding and Welding (Continued)  

Important:  

 

•  Do not apply welding primer to adhesive flanges which have been ground down to bare metal     •  Only weld the adherent surface of the new part down to bare metal in the area of the weld points (including galvanised sheet steel)     •  Fit new part, note interfaces.     •  Activate adherent surfaces (new part, primed) with activator from the adhesive set, place the adhesive cartridge from the adhesive set in the BETAGUN 2000, apply 10 cm of a test bead (e.g. on cardboard).     •  Rough cut cartridge nozzle (round nozzle) to a 4 mm diameter.     •  Apply adhesive bead immediately, install new part