Notes on applying decorative foil to paint and glass - AH00.00-P-0018-01A

MODEL 117, 176 

To attach decorative foils, a doctor blade (1) made of plastic is usually used.

1 Doctor blade (symbol picture) 

Fig 1: Identifying Doctor Blade

Courtesy of MERCEDES-BENZ USA

Preliminary work required for attaching decorative foils 

The following preliminary work has to be performed before attaching decorative foils to painted and glass surfaces:

• The gap dimensions for all relevant body components must be checked, and if required, adjusted.
• The painted and glass surfaces must be cleaned and all dust, grease and silicone removed.
• Any paint damage must always be touched up.
• Dull painted surfaces (exceptions hereto are components with matt paint or which are fully covered in foil) should be repolished.

Important information for attaching decorative foils 

When attaching decorative foils to painted and glass surfaces, the following points must be observed to achieve an exact bonding process and optimum adhesion properties:

• The attachment of decorative foils should only be conducted by people with the necessary technical knowledge and appropriate experience.
• Decorative foils should always be heated up once they have been attached (temper). It is advisable here to use a suitable hot air blower. Electric hot-air blower for plastics.
• On large-area decorative foils wet bonding (water-washing-up liquid mixture) should be preferred to enable the doctor blade to be used to correct the positioning of the decorative foils or to remove any air pockets.
• If dry bonding is used, decorative foils can only be repositioned to a certain extent or not at all. Once the decorative foil has been pressed down firmly, it can no longer be removed and reapplied without destroying it.
• On decorative foils that have been attached using the dry-bonding method, the maximum bonding force is reached at an interior temperature of 20 °C, after approx. t = 48 h, for the wet method the time is later (t > 48 h).
• When pressing on or smoothing out the assembly liquid (water-washing-up liquid mixture) make sure you apply equal pressure.
• The transfer paper, where available, must be detached uniformly and in an obtuse angle to the bonded decorative foil.
• If bubbles or small wrinkles are produced when attaching, smooth them only after removing the transfer paper first.
• Shadows on the surface with a slightly cloudy appearance are not flaws in the product. These minor shadows disappear after the first wash or use of the vehicle.

Avoiding damage to the decorative foils 

To avoid any damage to the decorative foils, the following points must be observed when handling and attaching them:

• Do not kink decorative foils.
• Do not polish decorative foils.
• Do not attach adhesive strips to the decorative foils.
• If a lot of pressure is applied to a small surface, e.g. by a finger nail or through the edge of a doctor blade (1), the surface of the decorative foil will change.
• When using the doctor blade with a hot air blower, the temperature of the hot air flow on the decorative foil must always be checked. On no account may an excessively high temperature be set on the hot air blower. A sufficiently large distance to the decorative foil must also be maintained.

  Continuous swinging to and fro of the hot air blower can help to avoid any thermal degradation to the decorative foil.

• Do not attach any sharp-edged tools for attaching.

If the two points mentioned beforehand are not observed, replace the corresponding decorative foil.

Otherwise, there may be some partial optical irregularities or a poor overall foil appearance.