A surface protection method or a surface decoration method for a body to be coated, comprising integrally sticking a thermoplastic coating film larger in area than a predetermined sticking region of the body to be coated in accordance with a three dimension overlaying process, wherein the three dimension overlaying process is performed with a reticular sheet having a plurality of regularly arrayed openings being sandwiched between the coating film and the body to be coated, to integrally stick the coating film throughout an over half periphery of the body to be coated including the sticking region in a cross-sectional view, and to form, at least a portion of the sticking region, a three dimensionally formed portion that has a plurality of regularly arrayed recessed portions corresponding to the openings in the reticular sheet, wherein the method comprises arranging the reticular sheet on the surface of the coating film and performing the steps of the three dimension overlaying process, and wherein in the three dimension overlaying process, the contiguously formed spaces are formed above and below the coating film with the laterally extended coating film being set as a boundary, the body to be coated is accommodated in the lower accommodating space of the contiguously formed spaces, and the upper accommodating space of the contiguously formed spaces is released to an atmospheric pressure, a predetermined heat quantity is applied to the coating film before the upper accommodating space is released to the atmospheric pressure, to bring the coating film into a drawn-down state where the coating film draws near the three dimensionally formed portion of the body to be coated, the coating film is transitioned from the drawn-down state to a stuck state due to a pressure difference between the sealed spaces above and below the coating film, and in the coating film in the drawn-down state, a portion to be stuck to a center portion of the three dimensionally formed portion receives a smaller heat quantity than a portion to be stuck to a peripheral portion of the three dimensionally formed portion. the three dimension overlaying process is performed with a reticular sheet having a plurality of regularly arrayed openings being sandwiched between the coating film and the body to be coated, to integrally stick the coating film throughout an over half periphery of the body to be coated including the sticking region in a cross-sectional view, and to form, at least a portion of the sticking region, a three dimensionally formed portion that has a plurality of regularly arrayed recessed portions corresponding to the openings in the reticular sheet, wherein the method comprises arranging the reticular sheet on the surface of the coating film and performing the steps of the three dimension overlaying process, and wherein in the three dimension overlaying process, the contiguously formed spaces are formed above and below the coating film with the laterally extended coating film being set as a boundary, the body to be coated is accommodated in the lower accommodating space of the contiguously formed spaces, and the upper accommodating space of the contiguously formed spaces is released to an atmospheric pressure, a predetermined heat quantity is applied to the coating film before the upper accommodating space is released to the atmospheric pressure, to bring the coating film into a drawn-down state where the coating film draws near the three dimensionally formed portion of the body to be coated, the coating film is transitioned from the drawn-down state to a stuck state due to a pressure difference between the sealed spaces above and below the coating film, and in the coating film in the drawn-down state, a portion to be stuck to a center portion of the three dimensionally formed portion receives a smaller heat quantity than a portion to be stuck to a peripheral portion of the three dimensionally formed portion.