BRABUS uses high-perfor­mance solutions from Henkel

Adhesives and sealants are widely applied in aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul. Henkel therefore offers a broad portfolio of high-performance solutions that Brabus even uses for the transformation of top-of-the-range vehicles to “supercars”. Furthermore, BRABUS also specializes in the restoration of stylish classic cars, which requires deep know-how in adequate bonding chemistry to match legacy materials and assembly methods.

“Our tuned engines, sports chassis and aerodynamic body attachments are designed for providing a driving performance that exceeds the capabilities of production vehicles,” says Sven Gramm, Director Communications at BRABUS. “For this reason, the adhesives and sealants we use in the conversion and reassembly of our supercars must meet significantly higher temperatures, pressures, vibrations and wind loads than encountered under normal driving conditions. We have been partnering with Henkel for several years and value their strong commitment to providing us with the right materials and expertise.”

BRABUS is using Henkel materials in four main application areas for both supercar tuning and classic car restoration: engine gasketing, body attachments, glazing, and body work. The consistent choice of Loctite or Teroson products ensures chemical compatibility and minimizes the need for time-consuming trials.

Leak-free engine gasketing

For reliable gasketing and sealing of flanges on tuned or repaired engines, the seal must remain intact and leak-free over a long period of time. This requires gasketing solutions capable of resisting aggressive automotive fluids and gases while at the same time withstanding high operating temperatures and pressures.

• Loctite SI 5970 is a silicone sealant that offers very good oil and high heat resistance. BRABUS uses it primarily for flexible flange sealing on engine components such as oil pans that may be subjected to high vibration. It forms a tack-free gasket after only 25 minutes of curing upon exposure to ambient moisture.
• Loctite 5188 is a highly flexible anaerobic gasketing product with high heat and chemical resistance designed for sealing rigid metal and particularly aluminum flange faces in transmission and motor casings. It provides an instant low-pressure seal with superior adhesion even in the presence of minor oil contamination on the flange surface.
• Loctite 518 Pen helps BRABUS apply liquid gaskets of any size or shape that form a long-lasting high-performance seal especially on inactive metals. The handy pen integrates a convenient roll-on applicator to minimize waste and mess.
• Loctite 7200 is a gasketing remover that ensures perfect compatibility with Loctite gasketing products.
• Loctite 7063 is a solvent based cleaning and degreasing product for use on surfaces prior to applying Loctite adhesives. It removes most greases, oils, lubrication fluids and metal cuttings reliably without leaving any residue.

Primerless bonded body attachments

Aerodynamic attachments, such as spoilers, are normally bonded to the vehicle body. Apart from high strength to resist the wind load under driving conditions, the bonding material should offer fast curing faultless and adhesion also to painted surfaces.

• Teroson MS 937 is a solvent-free one-part primerless adhesive based on modified silane polymer technology that forms a very strong but flexible and resilient bond to various substrates. BRABUS used it for bonding aerodynamic spoilers directly to the painted body surface of supercars.

Direct glazing

Windscreens have developed from simple glazing applications to integrated structural parts of the vehicle body. Direct glazing adhesives must therefore meet a wide range of performance requirements – from essential flexibility to absorb vibrations to leakage-proof sealing even on wet and unclean surfaces, from compatibility with traditional rubber-mounted windscreens as a mature technology in classical cars to the structural stiffness required by advanced modern car designs.

• Teroson RB 4100 is a butyl rubber based low-solvent product with excellent sealing, ageing and weathering properties in joints between window frames, rubber profiles and glazing. At BRABUS, it is a preferred glazing sealant for rubber mounted windscreens on classic cars.
• Teroson PU 8597 HMLC is a one-component and solvent-free polyurethane adhesive for direct glazing. It offers very good sag resistance, high elastic and shear strength for structural automotive glazing applications, including stretch limousine side windows, as well as high UV resistance.
• Teroson PU 8630 HMLC is a two-component polyurethane direct glazing adhesive with similar properties as Teroson PU 8597 HMLC and a long open time of 30 minutes. BRABUS uses it especially in the reassembly of large and heavy structural windscreens.

Aesthetic body work

In body work, including repair and restoration, it is important that seams and coatings will reproduce the OEM texture finish for both visual aspect and reliable corrosion protection.

• Teroson MS 9320 SF is a solvent-free and isocyanate-free silane modified polymer product for reproduction of flat and wide-stream beads with OEM texture. Sprayable and brushable, it has a skin formation time of 10 minutes, very good sag resistance and can be spot-welded before curing. Besides seam sealing on stretch limousines, BRABUS also applies it to the underbody of vehicles, where it forms a rubbery impact resistant film.
• Teroson SB S3000 is a physically hardening anti-chip coating material for visible body components. It offers good abrasion resistance, can be textured to different surface requirements (using different nozzles) and is easily overpaintable.

“We are very proud of being a preferred supplier of high-performance materials to BRABUS and are continuously working to take our products to even higher levels as the market develops,” summarizes Matthias Biegel from Henkel’s Customer Service. “Our close partnership with the premium tuner makes sure that we understand the customer’s evolving needs and remain their one-stop provider of best-in-class adhesives and sealants.”