Automotive holding adhesive

Two additional types of holding adhesives are worthy of mention because their unique properties have made them valuable in the automotive industry. These are silicone adhesives and locking compounds. 

The years ahead hold considerable promise for automotive adhesives. Currently available products will probably experience a gradual increase in acceptance, particularly in the areas of body structural, hot melt and pressure sensitive holding adhesives. While it is risky to predict the future, it seems reasonable to anticipate additional product development in the following directions ... 

Resilient tapes are also used in the automotive area for the sealing of windshields and backlites. These tapes not only seal but also serve as the primary adhesive to hold the window glass in place. Although OEM use has declined in recent years, tapes are still used extensively in the aftermarket. Partially cured butyl is used exclusively in these tapes in order to meet the requirements of high shear strength, absence of flow and sag, and the ability to withstand the varied exposure conditions and vibrations encountered in a moving automobile. 

Many additional tests, too numerous to discuss in detail here, are conducted by users and producers to assess tape performance in some particular application. Many, of course, are modification of the more popular tests described above but presumably measure more accurately the resistance of the tape to forces encountered in some special application. For example, there is a test for holding cardboard panels at 90° to each other under stress which is of value for packaging tape. Many others have been developed by the Federal government, by automotive manufacturers, or by associations serving the needs of some industry. Other tests measure such things as adhesion of the tape to its backing, the difficulty in unwinding a roll of tape, and behavior of the tape under various environmental conditions. PSTC alone offers over 30 test methods and hundreds more could be culled from sources mentioned above. 

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